Why did god reveal the book of mormon to joseph smith using. Smith copied not only the jacobean english of the kjv, but some other usages characteristic of the bible. It shows that the book of mormon has committed plagiarism by utilizing our beloved final authority the king james bible without giving credit to whom credit is due. One can think of lots of arguments for using king james english in the book of mormon, but the clearest comes out of very recent experience. Besides, the language of the king james bible was not the language of the ancient hebrews or egyptians, or christs.
The most significant distinction between modern english and that used in the book of mormon is the use of the singular forms of the secondpe. Mormons, why is it the book of mormon plagiarises 1611. Free audio bible book of mormon audio download lds. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Royal skousen journal of book of mormon studies 31 1994. Furthermore, neither god nor angels ever spoke in shakespearian english. King james bible language in the book of mormon lds church.
Unabridged complete king james version holy bible the book of mormon doctrine and covenants the pearl of great price pdf epub book. Book of mormonplagiarism accusationsking james bible. The book of mormon certainly sounds biblical not only because it was written in king james 17thcentury language, but also because more than 27,000 words hundreds of verses, are copied directly from the king james version of the bible. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon.
There is no question that the isaiah passages in the book of mormon are in the language of the king james translation of the bible. Theyre both talking in king james english when the new testament is translated or when the book of mormon is translated, so, of course, theres going to be similarities using the same language. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. One of the most obvious observations is that there is a lot of king james bible language in the book of mormon. The king james version of the bible and its italics in. In some cases, entire passages of scripture are duplicated in the book of mormon. Jul 14, 2017 comparing the bible to the book of mormon, with compilation. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. Modern bible translations generally avoid archaic language and use contemporary language. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon.
Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is. It seems that if nephi had copied them from the plates of brass in hebrew onto his own record and that if joseph smith had then received the english translation by the gift and power of god, the isaiah passages would read more like the 1830 book of mormon and less. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. An observant reader of the book of mormon quickly notices that the style of english used there is similar to that of the king james authorized translation of the bible, with thee and thou and verb phrases like hath seen or frequent use of behold. Concerning the language of the sealed book of mormon.
May 02, 2011 nathan, considering the entire book of mormon undertaking was a plagerized forgery, and inspiring literary creation, it doesnt seem the least bit odd that portions of the king james version appear verbatim, chapter after chapter. Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah. Feb 17, 2018 translation errors in the king james version which affect the interpretation of bible prophecy the king james is one of the great classics of english literature. Most obvious are the large portions of isaiah, malachi, and matthew. When the book of mormon is published in a foreign language. James jesse strang march 21, 18 july 9, 1856 was an american religious leader, politician and selfproclaimed monarch. The holy bible, king james version lds edition the church of jesus christ of latterday saints on. The king james bible and the book of mormon fairmormon. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lds scriptures. When read in modern english, the text as originally written makes. Critics wonder why many of the quotes from isaiah in the book of mormon are identical to the king james version. The book of mormon has the structure of a translation from the hebrew language. When read in modern english, the text as originally written makes it. What is the difference between the book of mormon and the.
The original text of the book of mormon contains complex hebrewlike constructions that have been subsequently removed from the text because of their non english character. Jan 27, 2011 king mosiah and the nephites who followed him joined up with these mulekites and somehow was able to become king over both groups. James king bible, book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, the pearl of great price, hymns, joseph smith translation, maps, and photographs kindle edition by smith, joseph, church, lds. Oct 16, 2018 of the many interesting responses, none have yet addressed what i believe to be an important possibility. The book of mormon regularly combines short snippets from different parts of the king james bible and combines them into a new verse. The bible and book of mormon app, from the church of jesus christ, treats the two volumes of scripture as one, and makes it easier than ever to read, study and share the word of god.
The language of the original text of the book of mormon byu. Why was the book of mormon inspired to be translated into kj english. The relationship between the king james bible and the book of mormon is a strong one in terms of language and cadence and a powerful one in terms of covenantal theme. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. The theological value of the king james language in the.
The book of mormon is an additional book that the church of jesus christ of latterday saints includes as scripture, calling it. Jan 10, 2020 royal skousen is a professor of linguistics at brigham young university and has spent years studying the text of the book of mormon to look for variants and textual patterns. Translation errors in the king james bible appearing in the book of mormon. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and the style of the king james version kjv of the bible. The king james bible and the book of mormon religious studies.
Upstate new york dialect, king james english, or hebrew. Written by prophets to a people who lived in america long before white people ever came, some believe they were the beginnings of some native indian tribes. Jan 15, 2008 book of mormon why king james english. Aug 11, 2010 the book of mormon bom does quote from the bible, which would be fine, except that it uses the english language style of 1611 throughout the entire bom although the plates were not written in english. Joseph used a rock in a hat for the book of mormon dictation but may have also used the 1769 kjv edition bible and possibly other sources in aiding in producing the book of mormon. English in the book of mormon christianity stack exchange. John gilbert, compositor for the 1830 edition of the book of mormon, was apparently the first to. So, it leaves us to wonder if joseph smith used this form of writing to help the book of mormon sound more authoritative. Josephs language, according to his understanding of what scripture should look like, would have been the king james english. Kjv idioms and the book of mormon november 3, 2011 by bhodges if you go to the churchs online edition of the scriptures youll notice a prominent link to a 3part documentary called fires of faith. Royal skousen said the following on this topic in his 2016 fairmormon conference presentation, which of everything in this blog post is.
In light of all the above, it is the english language bible used by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Mormons, why is it the book of mormon plagiarises 1611 king. The bible text is the authorized king james version from 1611 and the book of mormon text is carefully consistent with 1830 version, and is available in both. The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations. First off, the book of mormon was not written in king jamesstyle english, it was translated into king jamesstyle english. In this part 5 of volume 3 of the critical text, we identify one more use of early modern english in fact, a very specific one in the original text of the book of mormon, namely, quotations from the king james bible. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history. Why is some of the book of mormon identical to the bible. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Instead, the book of mormon isaiah passages reproduce most of the king james wording intact and include archaic vocabulary from the king james text instead of using the plain words that are more characteristic of the english of the book of mormon. Bible verses related to mormons from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order galatians 1.
The theological value of the king james language in the book. Joseph smith did not just translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, but into a very specific type of jacobean english, as used in the king james version of the bible kjv. The king james version of the bible and the book of mormon. The lds edition of the bible 1979 contains the king james version supplemented and clarified by footnotes, study aids, and crossreferences to the book of mormon, the doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price. Doesnt the book of mormon blatently plagiarize the king james bible. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean. Nov 03, 2015 the book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ.
An oddity in the book of mormon, published in 1830, is that it uses antiquated english resembling the style of the king james version kjv. When it comes to the book of mormon translation, there is what is called a tight translation and there is. These are accepted as scripture by his followers, but not by any other latter day saint church. The coming forth of the king james bible, produced by btutv.
Mormons, why is it the book of mormon plagiarises 1611 king james english. First presidency statement on the king james version of the bible. Aug 22, 2018 the criterion of dissimilarity is essentially to eliminate coincidence. King james english in the book of mormon mormon handbook. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. When the book of mormon is published in a foreign language, is there an effort made to give the language an olderfeeldialect, like we see in the king james style of the english language version. Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. King james bible language in the book of mormon lds. It contains crossreferences to all the standard works, the topical guide, the bible dictionary, an index to the triple combination, two sections of maps and pictures.
Academic objectivity is used for the comparison between the king james version kjv of the bible and the main texts of mormonism latterday saints, lds. A selection, the language of av ebook says king james was a virtual contemporary of william shakespeare, but that the. Translation errors in the king james bible appearing in the book of mormon summary. The blending in of specific king james phraseology, from the new testament as well as the old testament, tells us otherwise. Thee thou ye king james english in the book of mormon. King james english in the book of mormon an oddity in the book of mormon, published in 1830, is that it uses antiquated english resembling the style of the king james version kjv bible.
Comparing the bible to the book of mormon, with compilation. Why were martin harris and david whitmer only allowed to see the plates with spiritual eyes. So, it leaves us to wonder if joseph smith used this form of writing to help the book of mormon. It seems reasonable to assume that if smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version, and would have corrected them for when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon. Latterday saint scholars are well aware of this and have explored different explanations. However, the book of mormon is not written in elizabethan english, except for the copies of the twenty chapters of isaiah that are found in the book.
The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the. Sometimes the source is acknowledged, as in the book of sourcetextsourcebook of mormon book2 nephi, where 18 chapters of isaiah a. The king james bible and the book of mormon its obvious even to the casual reader that the book of mormon, in its original 1830 translation, is written in the language of the king james version bible hereafter kjv. King james version of the bible and its italics in mormon texts, a visual primer. Furthermore, the book of mormon is full of scripture, and for the world of joseph smiths day, the king james version was the scripture, as we have noted. There are also well known references to new testament passages concerning the gifts of the spirit and faith, hope, and charity or matching phrases like grace is sufficient. Aug 27, 2008 it is recorded in the book of mormon that both lehi and jeremiah added their records to the brass plates of laban. First presidency statement on the king james version of. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 0. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. This quadruple combination includes the 20 edition of the lds king james version bible, book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price bound in one book. Joseph smith nor the nephites lived in jacobean england. Thus the presence of king james english and even kjv passages in the book of mormon functioned to establish the books validity to people already familiar with.
Questions related to the book of mormon and other items on. This process is not described in the book of mormon, but the whole group of nephites and mulekites were hereafter known as nephites. As a point of comparison we may look at the same isaiah passage as found in the dead sea scrolls, translated from hebrew into english by two contemporary scholars, theodor gasler and geza. The king james version is the old and new testaments of the bible. The king james bible and the book of mormon religious. All this statement does is transfer the problem to why god chose to have joseph smith translate the book of mormon into king james version biblical language see that topic below. This lecture will particularly explore the king james quotations in the book of mormon, as well as spelling in the book of mormon manuscripts and printed editions. Unless otherwise indicated, individuals may post material from the gospel media portion of this site to another website or on a computer network for their own personal, noncommercial. If one compares the wording the book of mormon isaiah with that of the king james version one finds that they are nearly identicalnearly, but not completely. Scripture audio book downloads including the kjv holy bible, book of mormon, and other lds scriptures, manuals, and resources. I find it hard to fathom that the egyptians, who allegedly wrote what became the bom many thousands of years before king james of england, wrote on golden plates in egyptian hieroglyphics, that when translated, matched sections or whole chapters from the kjv with the. Rather than venturing into the murkiness of how the kjv lan.
Royal skousen is a professor of linguistics at brigham young university and has spent years studying the text of the book of mormon to look for variants and textual patterns. The first edition of the novel was published in december 1867, and was written by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Many common english idioms are rooted in the king james bible. At the beginning of the book of mormon, nephi tells us that he is writing in the language of his father, which consists of the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians 1 nephi 1.
Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The book of mormon emulates the language and style of the king james bible because that is the scriptural style joseph smith, translator of the book of mormon, was familiar with critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied, without attribution, from the bible. Kj english was long obsolete, by centuries, in 1830 and was not the proper english, anyways, for an english bible. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible kjv. And there are whole sentences that are confusing at best, virtually indecipherable or humorous and jacob sod pottage gen 25.
Like smith, strang published translations of two purportedly ancient lost works. The critics have been quick to condemn the book of mormon because of this fact. Lds quad available in 4 sizes, 3 colors, custom name. In the past decade, as you know, certain ancient nonbiblical texts, discovered near the dead sea, have been translated by modern, uptodate american readers. The bible and the book of mormon compared by chad lyndon dills so whats the point of this comparison. Literary style used in book of mormon insured accurate. Joseph smiths other writings, such as his history and diary, reflect the modern english era of his day. In 1844 he claimed to have been appointed to be the successor of joseph smith as leader of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints strangite, a faction of the latter day saint movement. If a supposed ancient book quotes from a modern book then the book is not ancient. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon.
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