Today, the Lord reminded me about Jeremiah 23:28-31
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
God’s word is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Heb. 4:12). His Word is more powerful than anything else. He says not to worry about the false teachers—“What is the chaff to the wheat?”
But God is against something else: prophets who do not give God’s powerful words; who steal God’s words from others. This is happening today in a variety of ways, but one of the worst is right in the very book that we hold in our hand and proclaim to be the Word of God. It is destroying the Church.
Is it a question of Bible translations? No, it is a question of Greek texts used to translate the New Testament. The scholars who tell us what to believe about the Bible have told us that the best text is an eclectic text put together from a handful of manuscripts that do not agree with each other. It removes part or all of 400 verses in the New Testament. It is called the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies’ (NU) Greek text.
There is another Greek text that scholars have been throwing mud at for over a hundred years. It is known as the Textus Receptus (Received Text) and is compiled from manuscripts that agree with each other. I am told that it is in agreement with approximately 95% of the Greek manuscripts available.
Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, told us that a wise man hears Jesus’ sayings and does them. If we are to hear Jesus’ sayings, they must be present in our Bibles. But even in the Sermon on the Mount, there are several things missing. Compare the readings below. The Textus Receptus readings are taken from the King James Version. The NU Text readings are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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Textus Receptus |
NU Greek Text |
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Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. |
Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. |
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Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; |
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
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Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. |
Matthew 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. |
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Matthew 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. |
Matthew 6:4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. |
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Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. |
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. |
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Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. |
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
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Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: |
Matthew 7:28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, |
Some of these things may seem insignificant, like the last one. But is it significant if your Bible is missing the only record of the last part of the Lord’s Prayer? Yes, it is! Is it significant whether Jesus said not to give alms before men, or said not to be righteous before men? Yes, it is!
It only gets worse from here. As you continue through the New Testament, you find that seventeen verses are missing in their entirety. We find that in the Textus Receptus, Matthew 9:13 says that Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, while the NU merely says He came to call sinners. In Romans 8:1, the Textus Receptus says:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
While the NU Greek text says:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
That is a big difference. Is it any wonder that “say-the-words-and-you’re-good-to-go” theology has taken over the church?
I am not exaggerating this by showing you the very worst examples. You can see for yourself what the facts are by reading the long list in The NIV Report. After you read it, ask yourself: “Who is right?”
The scholars who have told us that this is for the best have their arguments about “the oldest manuscripts” and the like. But let’s put down the reasoning and just look at the facts. When so many verses containing critical doctrine on critical subjects are damaged or missing altogether, we need to take a close look and find the truth. We cannot base eternity on a faulty Bible.
“Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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Agreed completely!
I have personally noted that the NIV is easier to understand but not easy to remember.
There are also omissions and changes in the NIV. In fact, the same portion of scripture, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” has been omitted from Romans 8:1 in the NIV. Therefore, the NIV isn’t a reliable translation.
I noticed this a long time ago, comparing it to my Greek version and tossed it out. Btw, glad I came across this site.