King James Bible
Versus
The Versions
In Mark 1:2-3

Mark 1:2-3 (KJB) As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mark 1:2-3 (NIV) "a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"-- "a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"

Almost all new versions read the same way as the NIV! The contradiction here is "in the prophets" verses "Isaiah the prophet." Now, I'm not one to go to manuscript evidence so that I can believe that God would preserve his words like he promised to do. I need only to go to the Bible in most cases to prove the so-called new versions in error! (That is without using the KJB as the measure to judge all things by which is the correct and easiest way to do it.) I find it amazing that men who call themselves scholars could write something like they did in Mark 1:2-3. Let's go to the Bible and see what it has to say about it:

Malachi 3:1 (KJB) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 40:3 (KJB) The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

God is not a man that he should lie! Did Isaiah really say what was in verse two? "Yea, hath God said?" Nay, it was the prophet Malachi which makes the King James reading correct, "in the prophets." The NIV is a flat out lie! It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, the NIV can be discarded as trash!

These "scholars" that think they know better than God and do not believe God when he says in many places that he will preserve his word for us do not make sense. They say that you have to know the original language to get a better understanding, but then turn right around and reject the original language even when the majority of manuscripts disagree with what they think is better than what God said! Below is a list of manuscript evidence for the two readings. Remember, when you see Byzantine text that it is talking about over ninety-five percent of the available manuscripts today! Don't be fooled by a list of manuscripts that looks even in count, but has Bytantine listed in one group. "The following manuscripts contain the reading 'in the prophets' as does the
KJV, the place following the / is where the ms can be seen, and the Roman
numeral is the century the ms dates to:

A Alexandrinus/London V
K Uncial 017/Paris IX
P Uncial 024/Leningrad VI
W Uncial 032/Washington V
II Uncial 041/Leningrad IX
f/13 Family 13 manuscripts include 13 (XIII), 69 (XV), 124 (XI), 346, (XII), 543 (XII),
788 (XI), 826 (XII), 828 (XII), 983 (XII), 1689, (XIII); All of which are miniscules.

All of the following are Miniscule mss.

28 Miniscule/XI
1009 Miniscule/1200 AD
1010 Miniscule/XII
1079 Miniscule/X
1195 Miniscule/1223 AD
1216 Miniscule/XI
1230 Miniscule/1224 AD
1242 Miniscule/XIII
1253 Miniscule/XV
1344 Miniscule/XII
1365 Miniscule/XII
1546 Miniscule/1263 AD (?)
2148 Miniscule/1337 AD

Byz The Majority of Byzantine Manuscripts dating from 450 thru the XVII
Lect/m The Majority of Lectionaries in the Menologion.
syr/h The Syrian Harclean Peshetta/2nd to the 7th century
cop/bo/ms-mg The Coptic (Bohairic) ms=manuscript mg=marginal note/3rd to 6th century
arm Armemian Version (Zohrab)/4th or 5th century
eth Ethiopic Version/6th century
Irenaius/lst Church Father/202 AD
Photitus /895,
Theophylact /1077,

As you can see, the testimony support the KJV reading is vast, and covers every where from the beginning of the 2nd century AD (Time of John) to the early modern era.

Please Note, that the majority of the following are corrupt Alexandrian texts.

"Isaiah the prophet" is found in the following manuscripts.
Codex Sinaiticus (4th cent.)
Codex Vaticanus (4th cent.)
Codex Bezae (6th cent.) also known as Codex D
Codex Regius (8th cent.) also known as Codex L
Codex Delta (9th cent.)
Codex Theta (9th cent.)

It is also in the following minuscules.
33 (9th cent)
565 (9th cent.)
892 (9th cent.)
700 (11th cent.)
1071 (12th cent.)
1241 (12th cent.)
2174 (14th cent.)
Additionally, the reading is found in the following translations.
Some old Latin, vulgate, syrian, copic, and gothic versions.

"in the prophets" is supported by the following manuscripts.
Codex Alexandruinus (5th cent.) also known as Codex A
Codex K (9th cent.)
Codex P (6th cent.)
Codex Washingtonus (5th cent.) also known as Codex W
Codex Leningradus (9th cent.)

The reading is also found in the following minuscules.
28 (11th cent.)
1009 (13th cent.)
1010 (12th cent.)
1079 (10th cent.)
1195 (1123 AD)
1216 (11th cent.)
1230 (1124 AD)
1242 (13th cent.)
1253 (15th cent.)
1344 (12th cent.)
1365 (12th cent.)
1546 (1263 AD)
1646 (1172 AD)
2148 (1337 AD)

The reading can also be found among the following early translations. Syrian, copic, armian, and in the Byz. text.

Dr. Thomas Holland
logos1611@aol.com

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