For over 400 years the King James Version of the Bible has remained the gold standard for Bible translations. It was first published in 1611 after being commissioned by King James in the effort to bring political and religious unity to his kingdom. The Church of England had the scriptures translated into what was called the Bishop’s Bible in 1568 and these texts were selectively read in their services. At the same time the Geneva Bible had been translated by a Protestant reformer in 1560. It had many annotations in the margins questioning the authority and power of the bishop and the king himself which was problematic. This Bible was readily available to the common people which allowed them to read portions of scripture that were not shared in their church services causing unrest between the people and the church.
King James authorized a new translation of the Scriptures. He commissioned 47 theologians and scholars to examine the original Hebrew and Greek texts. Much of their work relied on the impecible work of William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament. Tyndale was a Protestant who was the first to translate the New Testament from the Greek to English because he thought the common people deserved to know the Word of God. He was fluent in many languages, including Greek and Hebrew and was a contemporary of Erasmus who was also a known translator of the New Testament. Tyndale was executed by the church as a heretic not long after he finished his translation in 1525.
Upon completion, the King James Bible quickly grew in popularity because it was the most faithful translation of the scriptures and the most readily available, intentionally. King James wanted everyone to have access to a Bible that was faithful to the scriptures and had his name on it. Thus bringing popularity back to the church and his kingdom.
So, why the history lesson? The verses in 1 John 5:7-8 have long been a source of controversy. They seem to have been caught between translations and translators and the authorities in power at the time. These verses are known as the Comma Johanneum and read as:
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”
1 John 5:7-8 KJV
However, many newer and more modern translations do not include these verses as such. For instance, the English Standard Version says,
For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
1 John 5:7-8 ESV
What gives? Every translator’s work relied on the texts that were available to him and the work of translators before them. Apparently, these verses, as quoted in the KJV, did not appear in any Greek texts before the 1500’s. Even Tyndale, though he included the text, added it in smaller text and brackets indicating that he doubted it was in the original Greek texts. Erasmus is often credited with the first addition of the text to the Greek New Testament, though not until his third edition and under pressure from the Catholic church. Tyndale likely used Erasmus’s work as source material for his own English translation.
The Comma did not appear in the earliest copy of the Vulgate, the latin translation of the New Testament. And it appears that the very earliest attestation of the Comma was by Pricillian of Avila, a bishop and professed Catholic, though loosely understood, in the 4th century. Though his version of the scripture differs from what is quoted in the KJV.
John says there are three who testify on earth, the water, the flesh, and the blood, and these three are one, and there are three who testify in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and these three are one in Jesus Christ.
Comma Johanneum – Pricillian of Avila
Pricillian was the first bishop to be executed as a heretic by the Catholic church. Pricillian emphatically defended the oneness of God. There was a strong agenda of the Catholic church since 380AD to eradicate and silence those that were in opposition to their creed and sovereignty, even if it went against the Word of God.
There are several verses in the King James Version that are not included in more recent and modern translations and thankfully information is much more readily available to translators and scholars today. The reasons for some ommisions in more modern translations vary from a duplicated verse, a very similar verse appearing elsewhere in scripture, the verse not being found in the oldest texts we’ve found, and so on. Whatever the case may be, there is no need to fret, the Bible can still be relied upon as the inspired Word of God. Even the verses that come with a question mark are faithfully interpreted by other scriptures. God’s Word never contradicts itself and God promised to preserve His word for all of eternity. You can be sure that the Bible will lead you to the one God and Savior, who never changes.