15. Holy Bible: 21st Century King James Version

KJ21: Holy Bible. God. 1994. 1888 pages. [Source: Bought] 

First sentence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Start date: October 2, 2023

Finished date: November 2, 2023

This is my second time to read the KJ21. I liked it more the first time around. I have lost my appreciation for single column Bibles. And the different font sizes really bothered me this time around. I enjoyed the New Testament so much. But the Old Testament was just a bother--not because of the content (obviously) but because of the layout. I have no idea why the publishers would go so out of their way to make the layout annoying. 

This translation is a light update to the King James Version.

As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 9:25-33 KING JAMES

As He saith also in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My people,’ who were not My people, and ‘her beloved’ who was not beloved.”And, “It shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ‘Ye are not My people,’ there shall they be called the children of the living God.”Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.”And as Isaiah said before: “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah.”What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;but Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.Why so? Because they sought it not by faith but, as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed.” Romans 9:25-33 KJ21

The KJV has a 'unique' way of spelling OT names at times. The KJ21 updates the names--the spellings--to what we're accustomed to seeing. It never made sense to me that Hosea was Hosea in the Old Testament, and suddenly became "Osee" whenever mentioned in the New!!!! Elijah is another example.

It's very, very, very true to the spirit of the KJV.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.The same was in the beginning with God.All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.In Him was life, and that life was the Light of men.And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.The same came as a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe in His name,who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.

If you love the KJV, chances are you'd enjoy this one as well.

This edition of the text, has some oddities. There are two font sizes in the Old Testament. A font for text that you probably want to read and not skim, and, a font for text that you are probably okay skimming. I don't know why they made this decision. 

The layout is one column in this KJ21. In the New Testament, the words of Christ are in a different font. They are definitely set apart visually from the rest of the text. This was nice on the eyes, I must admit. I don't like red letter bibles because they are hard on my eyes. This technique set apart Christ's words in a way that was unique. Is it absolutely necessary to distinguish Christ's word's from the other text? Not really. But it worked for me in this case.

I love the KJV. I do. I really do. But there are times I get frustrated with the names. (Elias instead of Elijah; Esaias instead of Isaiah) This does just enough updating to suit me.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible