“Oh, yes sir, you should look into the New King James—they did a very thorough job of updating the text, but it still sounds like the King James. They say it’s accurate and complete and I can tell that it’s beautiful.”
We hope the saleslady in our Introduction reads this book or talks to someone who has, then revises her inadequate—not to say false—concept of what the New King James Version of the Bible is all about.
To make it easy for her we have provided a selection of informed opinion from England, Canada, and the United States who want her and others to understand the goals and achievements of the New King James Version.
I have sincerely tried to be accurate, fair, and hopefully interesting in stressing the three great qualities that our translation team worked so hard to retain from the KJV and enhance in the NKJV.
Of course I would be fooling no one if I were to pretend that I was an objective witness. First as New Testament Editor and later as Executive Editor of the New King James Version, I have put many years of my life and used much of my education in this work.
And now it’s time to hear from others, a few who worked on the NKJV, and several others.
These testimonials have been chosen from a much larger selection for their variety and sincerity. I have organized them under various categories.
Children and Youth Workers
It is fitting that the first word should go to a lady, Mrs. Dan Mosher, since she is not only a Sunday school teacher and home schooler, but also was my secretary in the first few years of the NKJV project. She typed the New Testament from scratch—and retyped—and retyped, as well as making valuable contributions on current usage and style.
A Sunday School Teacher
The New King James translation has been a great help to me in teaching children’s Sunday school classes and Bible clubs. Not having to explain archaic words or word order in Scripture passages and memory verses saves valuable teaching time. This is important when you’re dealing with the limited attention span of children! They are able to learn and recite verses with more understanding.
At the same time, the traditional rhythm and outstanding English style of the older King James Version is preserved, enabling children to experience God’s Word as great literature as they learn its spiritual truths in a language they can easily understand.
Frances Mosher
Sunday School Teacher
Christ Congregation
Dallas, Texas
A Youth Leader
For the past forty years, the Awana ministry has been building lives on the Word of God. As Awana shares in the spiritual training of young people around the world, we recognize the importance of a clear presentation of the Scriptures. After much prayerful consideration, we decided to use the New King James Version in the Awana publications. We believe that incorporating the NKJV into the Awana materials will help young people to better understand God’s Word.
Dr. Art Rorheim
President
AWANA Clubs International
Streamwood, Illinois
A CEF Leader
Is there anything more important than sharing God’s Word with the youngest and ripest mission fields in language they can understand? Recently Child Evangelism Fellowship has chosen to print our Visualized Bible Verses in The New King James Version for easier comprehension. We use visuals, sign language, music, and games to teach, repeat, and review these verses. But the most important tool for a boy or girl to associate with the memory verses is his or her own copy of God’s Word. If a child comes to a Good News Club or summer Five-Day Club and has no Bible, he is given one after coming three times. I have observed with joy the illumination of the Holy Spirit as a child sees that the copy of God’s precious Word in his hands matches what the teacher has on the large visual.
Susan Pearl Tyler
Supervisor of Teacher Training
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Dallas, Texas
A Campus Evangelical Leader
I’m really delighted with the New King James Version. Now we have a Bible that is easily memorized as well as being easily understood.
Bill Bright
President
Campus Crusade for Christ
San Bernardino, California
An Evangelist and Youth Leader
I have devoted my life to counseling young people, teaching them the moral precepts of Christian living. Because of this, I favor words and language that youth can understand. The New King James Version fulfills an important need for a contemporary version with sound doctrine kept intact. So many times translators have a tendency to sacrifice traditional biblical theology in order to keep the text “modern” for today’s readers. The New King James Version does an excellent job of retaining the great truth of the Bible, at the same time removing the confusing archaisms.
Jack Wyrtzen
Word of Life Fellowship
Schroon Lake, New York
Educators
Those who teach the Bible on a college or Seminary level want a version that is readable yet reliably close to the original. The following educators believe that the NKJV meets those needs.
A Seminary Professor
The NKJV is the only modern translation that does not either call into question or omit all or parts of scores of New Testament verses. Yet it provides the fullest set of footnotes dealing with textual matters to be found outside of a Greek New Testament itself.
For example, Mark 9:44 and 46 do not exist in the NIV, RSV, NASB, TEV, and NEB. But the overwhelming evidence based on antiquity, catholicity, continuity, and number is clearly in favor of the authenticity of those verses. Similarly, the familiar fifty-eight-word (KJV) Lord’s Prayer in Luke 11:2—4 is reduced to only thirty-seven words in the RSV and NASB, and shrinks to only thirty-four words in the NIV. The NKJV has fifty-nine words.
Dr. James Borland
Professor of Bible and Theology
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia
A Canadian Scholar
Of all the modern translations, my favorite is the New King James Version. This revision was born out of a desire to maintain the literary and spiritual traditions of a familiar version, and involved the work of evangelical scholars who updated the grammar and syntax as well as modernizing obsolete expressions. The revision was governed by the principle of “complete equivalence,” which involved a measured rendering of each word and phrase so that accuracy in translation rather than paraphrase was the dominant consideration.
Dr. R. K. Harrison
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Wycliffe College
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
A Chairman of the Board
I have observed that preachers who use modern translations and paraphrases seldom quote the Word enough. Most modern versions are too wordy and not easy to quote. The New King James, like the old King James (which I’ve read fifty-four times), is very quotable. I have recommended the NKJV to our faculty, staff, and students. It is now my favorite version.
Mrs. Freda T. Lindsay
Chairman of the Board
Christ for the Nations
Dallas, Texas
A Greek Scholar
The New King James Bible has several excellencies which commend it, three of which are its English, its philosophy of translation, and its basic text.…As for translation philosophy, the New King James aims at faithfulness in the rendering of the original languages. It avoids stiff literalness on the one hand and interpretive paraphrase on the other. It seeks to present what the inspired writer says without trying to explain what he means. This is what most of us want, is it not? We want to know what God says, not what some translator thinks He meant.
†Dr. Harry Sturz
Professor Emeritus of Greek
Biola University
La Mirada, California
A Lutheran Professor
I heartily recommend for serious consideration the use of the NKJV as the standard English translation for the following reasons: its literary quality, its ease in memorization, and its accuracy in following the Greek text faithfully.
Dr. Robert Hoerber
Professor of Exegetical Theology
Concordia Seminary
St. Louis, Missouri
An NIV Scholar
The New King James Version should find its most ready acceptance among those who treasure the Authorized Version for reasons of lifelong familiarity and confidence in the traditional. In particular, the eminently memorizable character of the Authorized Version is carried over in the New King James Version. Also, that song-like cadence, which so naturally impresses the phrasing on the memory of the reader, is the same quality that enhances the essential vitality of private and public worship. Along with fidelity of translation, these inherent qualities of the Word of God must be preserved by the church.
The New International Version is an entirely new translation written in the language of the twentieth century.
The New King James Version is a very careful revision of the King James Version. It is more accurate, because it is rendered in the manner in which things were said in the original language. The Bible is a covenant document from God addressed to His people. We have a responsibility to present God’s Word in as faithful a rendition as possible.
Milton C. Fisher
Professor of Old Testament
Theological Seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Evangelists and Missionaries
Children and youth work, as well as teaching generally, include an evangelistic outreach. But there are those—called evangelists and missionaries—whose main mission in life is to reach the non-Christian and unchurched world. These people, too, are being helped by the clarity of the NKJV.
A Young Evangelist
The first real book I ever read at seven and eight years of age was the King James Version of the Bible. Yes, even Leviticus and Numbers! The King James was the version I used to memorize my first Bible verses, play my first “sword drills” in Vacation Bible School, and preach my first sermon.
For me, the King James Bible is more than a translation—it’s part of my thoughts, prayers, and vocabulary. As a writer, King James phrases glide from my pen. As a preacher, King James cadences flow through my sermons. As an evangelist, I can’t imagine quoting the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, without saying it like the King James said it.
Having said all this, however, why do I like the New King James? Because it’s all the things the old King James was, only better. It’s much easier to read. It’s clearer when you’re interpreting a passage. And it’s a great aid in communication.
Whether I’m studying for a sermon, witnessing to a person in need of Christ, or reading my daily devotions, I feel right at home with the New King James. It’s a faithful old friend and an outstanding new friend combined in one.
God has blessed His English-speaking church in the world today with this brilliant translation of His holy, inerrant Word, a translation that continues a four-hundred-year-old tradition of beauty and reliability, and yet pioneers fresh, conservative ground for a new generation.
Do I use the old King James anymore? No. Why should I, when I have the New King James—everything that was great in the old, plus a whole lot more? And just in case you have any doubt, I love the New King James!
Frank D. Carmical
Evangelist
Plano Bible Chapel
Plano, Texas
A Television Evangelist
The New King James Version makes reading the Bible much clearer but in no way dilutes the truth or distracts from the most effective flow found in the original King James.
James Robison
Evangelist
Euless, Texas
A Former Missionary
As one who has long appreciated the worshipful quality of the King James Bible, I have recently turned to the New King James as my primary source of spiritual instruction and inspiration. I believe this change is explained on three accounts: first, the similarity of the newer edition to the older one in which I received my early and later spiritual training; second, the elimination of archaic English greatly eases my reading; and third, my enjoyment of biblical poetry as poetry, since these passages have been cast in beautiful poetic form.
The New King James revisers have accomplished an amazing task of retaining the accuracy and majesty that are unique in the King James Bible, while at the same time vastly improving its communication qualities.
Jean Anthony McDowell
Former Missionary
Curriculum Research Specialist
Orlando, Florida
Pastors and Church Leaders
Probably the most important users of the Bible are those who preach from it every week from pulpits all over the world. While some ministers use the Bible sparingly in their preaching, those who believe in expounding the whole counsel of God, such as those quoted below, desire a very accurate yet worshipful translation for public reading and exposition.
A Former President of the Southern Baptist Convention
Understanding will be improved by a clearer rendering where language has changed through the years. There is no translation on earth that has the beauty of the New King James Bible.
Dr. Adrian Rogers
Pastor
Bellevue Baptist Church
Memphis, Tennessee
A California Pastor
In January, 1984, we announced that we would be reading publicly from the NKJV each Sunday and would be preaching and teaching from that translation from then on. It has become exciting to hear the unified reading of the Scriptures each week. For those who have been enamored by the King James Bible, it has not been difficult for them to switch. I can certainly recommend this approach to any congregation which sees the value of public reading of God’s Word as well as the private study thereof. This unified approach has enhanced our spiritual life and our coming together in the unity of Christ.
Glen D. Cole
Pastor
Capital Christian Center
Sacramento, California
An English Minister
We surely want a Bible that is both accurate and readable. The issue at stake cannot be regarded lightly. Let me sincerely and earnestly commend to you the New King James Version.…I am profoundly thankful to God that we have at last a “trusted text that is easy to read” and is available from your local Christian bookshop.
Rev. David Fountain
Pastor
Spring Road Evangelical Church
Sholing, Southampton, England
A National Baptist Convention Pastor
I particularly like its clarity and its reverent phrases and sentences. It is a book that young people can understand and identify with.
Dr. John W. Williams
Pastor
St. Stephen Baptist Church
Kansas City, Missouri
A Pentecostal Pastor
As a Sunday school teacher for about twenty years and as a pastor for another ten, I have done a lot of reading in and studying from Bibles. I expect I’ve read more than ten different translations completely through, some of them several times.…
After all that reading and studying, I sincerely believe the New King James Version to be the best of the lot for most practical purposes. It parallels the King James Version closely enough for ease in using the study aids keyed to that version. It retains enough of the style of the KJV to make it familiar to old timers like me, and it does away with the archaic wording which makes the KJV difficult to read aloud and be understood by new readers.
David E. Beneze
Pastor
International Church of the Four-Square Gospel
Colorado Springs, Colorado
A Presbyterian Minister
The original authors of the King James Version of the Bible reached a pinnacle of excellence in the use of the English language which has, in my opinion, never been equalled or excelled. Therefore, the Bible holds a unique place in the hearts of millions of people. The New King James Version will thus retain the beauty of the original while removing its few blemishes.
Dr. D. James Kennedy
Pastor
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
A Southern Baptist Pastor
I highly recommend the NKJV. I firmly believe that it is the very best version of God’s Word in English.…This version is translated completely in current English. It is delightful to read; however, accuracy is not sacrificed for readability. This rendering of God’s Word is true to the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
The New King James Version is based on the same families of manuscripts as that of the traditional KJV. Modern readers who have been accustomed to the KJV are not stumped by the reverse order of certain verses that marks other modern versions. Familiar passages are not omitted in the NKJV.
The NKJV is quite honest. In the study editions, elaborate references to variant readings in families of manuscripts are included.
Dr. Lawrence Dee Burks
Pastor
First Baptist Church
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
An Author and Bible Teacher
To my mind, the New King James Bible does not demean or detract from the beloved King James Version. On the contrary, it enhances it. In using the NKJV I do not have to give up the majestic language of the Authorized Version, but there are several things that I do gain.
Words that are no longer used by us today are replaced by their modern equivalents. This includes pronouns like thee and thou, and verbs ending in -est and -eth.
There are other words that mean something entirely different than they did in 1611. To let then meant to prevent. Now it means to permit. So let has been replaced with restrains in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
Some Old Testament words that were culturally acceptable when the Authorized Version was translated would never be used in polite society today. To read them in a church service would be shocking.
The deity of Christ is sometimes brought out more clearly in the NKJV. In Titus 2:13, KJV, the expression “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” might suggest two persons. The NKJV allows no room for misunderstanding: “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Here they are clearly the same Person.
In 2 Corinthians 5:9, KJV, it sounds as if our acceptance with God depends on our works. The NKJV corrects this: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” We don’t labor to be accepted by Him, but we are ambitious to please Him.
The NKJV does not fall into the trap of some other versions. It does not take undue liberty with the text of Scripture. Therefore, it can be confidently used by the serious student of the Word.
Congregations that are used to the Authorized Version can listen to the public reading of the NKJV with a minimum of adjustment.
I value the New King James for in-depth study, for memorization, and for enjoyable reading. It is my #1 version.
William MacDonald
San Leandro, California
After reading all these testimonies all I can do is to quote the words that Augustine heard in his garden so long ago that led to his conversion to Christ: “Tolle, lege”—“Take up and read!”