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Matthew 23:24

Matt. 23:24 in the KJV reads thus:

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Here's the verse in the NIV:

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

The word "at" or, "out" comes from the Greek word διϋλίζω (dee-oo-lid'-zo). It means "to filter". The word is related to the modern word "dialysis". The GNT and TR Greek texts are identical for this verse.

I Corinthians 3:15

I Cor. 3:15 in the KJV reads thus:

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Here's the verse in the NIV:

If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

The words "by fire" come from the Greek διὰ πυρός (dee-ah poo-ros). It is a literal translation. "escaping through the flames" is a dynamic equivalent chosen by the translators, who were looking for a modern expression which had the same meaning.

In contrast to the NIV, many alternate translations, including the NASB and ESB, use the literal rendering.

The word πυρός can be associated with words like "purify" or even "pyrotechnics".

John 3:16

John 3:16 in the KJV reads thus:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Here's the verse in the NIV:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The expression "one and only" is a dynamic equivalent for the Greek word μονογενής (mon-og-en-ace) meaning "only-born". "Only begotten" is a literal translation (of the same word) in the old English.

The KJV uses a similar dynamic equivalent in Luke 8:42 where it uses the expression "one only daughter", also from μονογενής. If translated literally as in John 3:16, it would say "only begotten daughter".

μονογενής is an adjective form of the Greek word translated "beget" or "begat", used many times in the KJV. An example is "Jacob begat Joseph" (Matthew 1:16). There seems to be no simple equivalent in modern English. The passage from Matt.1:16 in the NIV is "Jacob (was) the father of Joseph". Another construction may be "Jacob fathered Joseph" or "Jacob became the father of Joseph".

Correction:

The current edition (26) contained an error. It has since been corrected. The error was in the section entitled "Works for salvation". In the discussion on Romans 4:4-5, it was noted that the copyist had mistakenly added a word causing it to read as follows:

Now to him that worketh not is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

The copyist did not make that mistake. The confusion arose because he had erased part of the passage and then wrote it again. Look carefully at the original to see what he did.

The Exact Match

The most ardent defenders of the KJV confidently say that the Bible is inerrant and infallable. Such a claim cannot be refuted; it is based on firm conviction and not on a rigid proof from careful textual criticism. One element of the critical proof would be an exact match of the TR (textus receptus) relative to the original. Obviously the match is not provable because the original is not available.

Be assured that many of those who cannot accept the "exact match" still hold to the firm conviction that the KJV and alternate versions reveal the unblemished and timeless truth of God's Word.