I know about the Book of Enoch, have yet to read it, but I know there are several other books that were not put in the final version.
I’ve also heard some grumbling about King James himself and his role so since there are many Bible wise Annons on this site, hoping you will share your knowledge.
What do you think of the information presented here?
https://www.thetorchbearerseries.com/
Turned me into a TR favorist (as opposed to a KJVonlyist)
Well it’s a lot of info and I’ll have to start reading it all. I so want to know God’s true word that has been manipulated in differing versions. I want the truth! (Aside from James 3:16 :-)
Start with the Didache.
The 'Didache' addresses the teachings of the 12 apostles. The word 'Didache' in the Greek means 'instruction' or 'doctrine' which has been taught'. It thus conveys Christ's last directive to Matthew (28:18-20). The Didache purports to be an instruction based on the sayings of Jesus and passed on by the 12 Apostles to potential converts to Christianity. Thus, it is not a manual for the use of bishops and deacons, but addressed to the people.
Furthermore, in the Didache Chapter II, states--
Now the second commandment of teaching is this:
Notice that it commands us not to permit abortion.
It goes on and commands us to 3. "not to commit perjury; do not bear false witness; do not speak evil; do not bear malice."
It is a perfect for the times. Why was it excluded when it commands us to be 4. "not double-minded or double-tongued, for a double tongue is a deadly snare."
And 6. "Your speech shall not be false and empty, but made good by action."
There's more guidance in the Didache, but for the life of me why it was excluded from the Bible is hard to say. The genuineness of the the Didache can hardly be doubted. It was cited by Clement of Alexandria in his "First Stroma" by Eusebius, who speaks of it in his "History Eccl.", 3:25; and by Athanasius in his 39th "Festal Epistle". Though mentioned in these Apocryphal books of the New Testament, the Didache had not , since the time of Nicephorus in the 9th century AD, been known or quoted. It was found in the library of the Holy Sepulcher at Istanbul (Constantinople) in 1873. All chronological evidence indicates the Didache was compiled at a date as early as 70 AD, while most critics place it about 80-90 AD. This would mean it is as old or older than the Book of Revelations and the Letters of the Apostle John.
Exactly the stuff I’m looking for!
Wow this is info I wanted, thank you!
There is the Doay-Rheims Bible which was translated from the Vulgate Bible written in 395AD by Saint Jerome, this bible was published in 1610.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668243
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1581
The Geneva Bible of 1560 accompanied the founders of America on the journey over the Atlantic on the Mayflower and was most probably the one used by Shakespeare when writing his plays. There are a lot of translations and revisions of this dating to around 1599.
https://archive.org/details/TheGenevaBible1560 (1560)
https://ebible.org/pdf/enggnv/enggnv_a4.pdf (1599)
The Gospel of Barnabas is worth a read as is the Nag Hammadi library which was discovered in 1945, this is a Gnostic Bible.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding these two tracts.
https://archive.org/details/thegospelofbarn00unknuoft
https://archive.org/details/pdfy-VQak8K5FtBf5Aa6X
I hope this helps.
Great stuff - thanks so much!!
Book of Thomas like Enoch also left off I'm told.
The original gospels and epistles that were compiled and canonized in the Council of Nicaea were selected because copies were already circulating in the churches and because there was already always broad agreement that they were inspired.
It's not true that the Council played "kingmaker" with the texts. They only acknowledged what was already recognized fact. Other useful writings exist (Didache, etc. I enjoy Maccabees).
As for translations, it's best to actually use multiple translations, since you get a more well-rounded picture of what the text actually says.
I suggest New Living Translation for readability. It's VERY accessible.
I suggest the Recovery Version for the (by far) most accurate translation.
I think the New King James is the most poetic.
I keep KJV and NIV on the shelf as well.
Book of Enoch is quoted in the NT, so it's useful to have.
But many of the apocryphal books are obviously NOT inspired. In fact if you just read them over yourself it should be fairly obvious to you as well.
Thank you for your reply.
One more thing. The Septaugint, being a Greek translation of the OT made by Jews, is useful for seeing what Jews really believed about the meaning of various OT scriptures, before Jesus was born. Jewish interpretation of OT messianic prophecies has changed since Christ, so it's good to see what they believed those verses meant with an unbiased eye.
The book of wisdom....some of my favorites
This is a mega answer - There will be lots of replies to my answer.
Wow, surprised you expended energy to write that response!
James 2:19 is THE James.