by Tad Lindley
Did you ever notice that when you are reading a Bible that some of the ink is red? Or that seemingly random words are italicized? Or that occasionally the word LORD appears in all capital letters, even some other words and phrases like I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14)? I want to explore that a little bit this week. If you have a King James Version of the Bible with you while reading, it will help you to make sense to see these things in your own Bible.
The original languages of the Bible
The Bible is a compilation of writings that cover the creation of the world in Genesis and go through the end of time and the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth in Revelation. I Peter 1:21 tells us, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. In other words, starting with Moses, the man who put Genesis into ink, God moved upon men to record the writings that we call the Bible. The Bible was originally recorded in three languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Hebrew scriptures, commonly referred to as, “The Old Testament”, were written down in Hebrew with some Aramaic (Daniel 2:4-7:28). The New Testament was originally recorded in Greek with a few phrases in Aramaic, for example in Mark 15:34, when Jesus said, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” he was speaking in Aramaic.
Here is our problem
The problem for most of us is that we cannot understand Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. Therefore in order for us to have access to the words of God, then the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic must be translated into a language that we do understand. At the time I write this, the entire Bible has been translated into only 756 of the over 7,000 languages spoken on earth today. Perhaps the most well known English translation is the King James Version.
Enter the KJV
In 1604, King James I of England put together a team of 54 men to create a publishable English translation of the Bible. This version was published in 1611. In the 1800s over 30,000 changes were made in order to reflect the changing English language. Therefore if you are holding a KJV in your hands, it is very similar to, but recognizably different from the original 1611 KJV.
The red ink vs. the black ink: The winner is…
Flip through many modern translations of the Bible and you will see that the New Testament has a mix of black and red ink. The red ink represents the words that were spoken by Jesus Christ when he was manifest in the flesh, and then when he spoke directly to people after he was received up into glory (see II Corinthians 12:9 and Revelation). There is a school of thought that believes that only the red ink in the Bible matters. The Bible teaches, however, that it all matters: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (II Timothy 3:16)
Why are random words italicized in the KJV?
When we go from one language to another, let’s say from Yugtun to English, the words are not a one to one match. If I translate the two syllables in Yugtun, “Pisciigatuq-gguq,” into English, it translates literally as, “It can’t do he/she/it apparently.” I need to add additional words in order to make it more understandable in English. I will reflect the additional words I have added by using italics: “Apparently they say (s)he is unable to do it.” This is exactly what is going on if you encounter italicized words in the KJV. Stop right now and check out Malachi 3:10 for an example of a verse with added words to improve understandability.
And how about all the CAPITAL LETTERS?
In the English translation from Hebrew, “יהוה”, or YHWH (pronounced, Yahweh), are translated in all capital letters as, “LORD,” because they represent the name of the Lord. Similarly, when God told Moses at the burning bush, “אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה”, the Lord was giving Moses his name, and so, because of the extreme importance of the name, it appears as, “I AM THAT I AM.”
CAPS in the NT
In the New Testament when you are reading, sometimes you come across verses that are partially or entirely capitalized. When you see that, it is the KJV’s way of letting you know that the words are a quotation of a verse from the Old Testament. For example, when the scribe asked Jesus what the most important commandment was, Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, “HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.” (Mark 12:29, quoting Deuteronomy 6:4)
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I want people to get so hungry for God that they start reading his word, that they repent of their sins, get baptized in Jesus’ name, and filled with the Holy Ghost. Would you do this for me? Next time you are in the steambath or having tea with friends, say to them, “Did you ever notice that the Bible has some words in all CAPITAL LETTERS, some in red, and some in italics? Let me tell you about that…”
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
