Jeremiah 27:1 - Is there another scribal error in the King James Bible and in the Hebrew Masoretic text?

In the King James Bible we read in Jeremiah 27:1: "In the beginning of the reign of JEHOIAKIM the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying...."

This is the reading found in the Hebrew Masoretic texts and in the following Bible versions: the Hebrew Masoretic text, the Latin Vulgate 425 A.D., the Jewish translations of 1917 (Jewish Publication Society), the modern Complete Jewish Bible, the modern Judaica Press Complete Tanach, the Hebrew Names Version, Wycliffe 1395, Coverdale 1535, Bishops' Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1599, King James Bible 1611, Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 1902, the Revised Version 1881, the American Standard Version 1901, Darby's version, Young's, Douay 1950, the New King James Version 1982, Green's modern KJV 2000, the KJV 21st Century 1994, the Third Millenium Bible 1998.

Among the foreign language versions that agree with the Hebrew text and the KJB reading of Jehoiakim are: the Spanish Reina Valera 1602, 1909, 1995, the German Luther of 1545, the Italian Diodati and Rivudeti, French Louis Segond, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Esperanto, Hungarian, Romanian, Tagalog, Esperanto, Chech and the Modern Greek translation (not to be confused with the so called Septuagint, which is missing the entire verse.)

However beginning with the liberal RSV (Revised Standard Version of 1952) a multitude of modern versions with conflicting footnotes have rejected the traditional Hebrew Masoretic textual reading of Jehoiakim and have replaced it with the name ZEDEKIAH.

Among those bible versions that continually cast doubt on the Hebrew texts and claim numerous "scribal errors" are the NASB, NIV, TNIV, NRSV, ESV, Holman Standard, New English Bible, the Message, Daniel Wallace's NET version, and the New Jerusalem Bible.

For numerous examples of how versions like the NASB, NIV, ESV, and Holman Standard reject the Hebrew texts, please see the following two articles:

http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/NIVapos.html

http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/NIVapos2.html

Conflicting footnotes are often found in these various modern versions. Regarding Jeremiah 27:1 the RSV simply tells us that "another reading is Jehoiakim", while the New Jerusalem says that Zedekiah is a conjecture (a guess) and that the Hebrew reads Jehoiakim. The NKJV online edition tells us that the Masoretic Text, Targum and Vulgate agree with the reading of Jehoiakim, but that some Hebrew mss., the Arabic and Syriac read Zedekiah; but then the Holman Standard informs us that even the Dead Sea Scrolls agrees with the reading of Jehoiakim as found in the King James Bible.

THOSE WHO CLAIM THE HEBREW TEXT IS CORRUPT:

Adam Clarke believes the Masoretic reading of Jehoiakim is an error. He says: "Verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim. It is most evident that his prophecy was delivered about the fourth year of ZEDEKIAH, and not Jehoiakim, as in the text. Three of Kennicott's MSS. (one in the text, a second in the margin, and the third upon a rasure) have Zedekiah; so likewise have the Syriac and the Arabic. And it is clear from the third and twelfth verses, where Zedekiah is expressly mentioned, that this is the true reading."

Daniel Wallace. As is his usual custom, Dr. Wallace and his NET bible version rejects the Hebrew reading of Jehoiakim, and sides with the multiple versionists who believe the Hebrew texts have been corrupted. Wallace says: " The majority of Hebrew mss and most of the versions read “At the beginning of the reign of Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim king of Judah” as in 26:1. The LXX does not have this whole verse. It has long been recognized that THE TEXT OF 27:1 IS TEXTUALLY CORRUPT... Hence it is preferable to read “Zedekiah” here in place of “Jehoiakim” and explain the error in the Hebrew manuscripts as AN ERRONEOUS COPYING of 26:1."

Gleason Archer. In his typical new evangelical outlook which considers the Hebrew texts to have been corrupted in numerous places, Dr. Gleason "Scribal Error" Archer says on page 273 of his Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties that a scribe inadvertently copied the wrong reading here and that "the original copy UNDOUBTEDLY read Zedekiah." How the good doctor Archer would know "undoubtedly" what the original copy said is mere pedantic speculation on his part. Gleason Archer, of the NIV and NASB translation committees, does not believe ANY Bible or any text is now the inerrant and complete words of God, and neither will you if you follow such blind guides.

Rather than accepting the possibility that maybe God really meant what He said about preserving His words in "the book of the LORD" somewhere here on this earth and that there may be another way to explain any number of apparent contradictions, the modern Scholars of Specious Speculation Society would have you believe that there is no such thing as an inspired and inerrant Bible in any language on the face of this earth. And no two of these men agree even among themselves about all of their textual suppositions, as is abundantly witnessed by the modern Bible Babel found today.

THOSE WHO DEFEND THE HEBREW MASORETIC READING:

John Gill at least offers a reasonable explanation of the Masoretic text reading of Jehoiakim saying: "others therefore think, that though the prophecy was delivered to Jeremiah, and the orders were given him to make the bonds and yokes after mentioned, at this time; yet this prophecy was concealed with him, and the orders were not executed till Zedekiah's time; or that the prophet, in the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, made the yokes as he was ordered, and put one on his neck, to signify the subjection of Judah to the king of Babylon, which quickly took place, about the third or fourth year of this reign; and that the rest were sent to the ambassadors of the neighbouring nations in Zedekiah's time; which latter seems most probable."

Jamieson, Faucett and Brown mention John Calvin's supportive view of the correct Masoretic reading, saying: "Jehoiakim--The prophecy that follows was according to this reading given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, fifteen years before it was published in the reign of Zedekiah to whom it refers; it was thus long deposited in the prophet's bosom, in order that by it he might be supported under trials in his prophetic career in the interim [CALVIN]."

Matthew Henry offers us Dr. Lightfoot's explanation as a solution to this apparent textual problem. He says: "Dr. Lightfoot solves it thus: In the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign Jeremiah is to make these bonds and yokes, and to put them upon his own neck, in token of Judah's subjection to the king of Babylon, which began at that time; but he is to send them to the neighbouring kings afterwards in the reign of Zedekiah, of whose succession to Jehoiakim, and the ambassadors sent to him, mention is made by way of prediction."

Bullinger's Companion Bible affirms the truth of the King James Bible and the Hebrew Masoretic text by simply stating that Jeremiah's prophecy was "given in the reign of Jehoiakim to Jeremiah. Declared, AFTER THIRTEEN YEARS, in the fourth year of Zedekiah."

There are many such prophesies in the Bible that were given long before the events occurred. Even in this prophesy itself found in Jeremiah 27 God says that he had already given all these lands, including Jerusalem, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, yet Jerusalem was not yet taken captive, and the false prophets were telling the people that it would not happen as God had said. Compare also the words spoken in Jeremiah 44 to the Jews who "dwell in Egypt", even before they had gone to Egypt, or the prophecy recorded in Isaiah chapter 45 that spoke of Cyrus and his accomplishments long before he was even born. God sees the end from the beginning and it is no difficulty at all for Him to "call those things that be not as though they were" - Romans 4:17.

The King James Bible is right (as always) and the multitude of conflicting modern bible babel versions put out by men who deny the existence of an infallible Book of the Lord are all wrong.

Will Kinney

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