For Christians, the Bible is the most important book. It is the only means through which God communicates to them. For this reason, there is a need to retain the original meaning of each verse, even with the emergence of numerous biblical versions. To many people, the King James Version of the Bible feels original and impactful. Gospel King James Version Americanized by Betty Lee is a rewritten version of the King James Version. It primarily replaces the old English words with the modern version of them.
With 195 pages, this book comprises the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The author keeps most of the original contents of these books, only changing the words which are no longer used in American English. Apart from changing the obsolete words, the author also adds some footnotes, each time scripture is referred to. These footnotes contain the book, the chapter, and the verse from which the scripture is taken.
Each of these Gospels narrates about the life of Jesus Christ. According to each of them, Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary. He is a descendant of King David of Israel. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Herod felt threatened. He ordered the killing of infants throughout his kingdom. God, through a dream, instructed Joseph to flee Israel for Egypt for the safety of the baby. After Herod had died, Joseph came back to Israel. Jesus, after being baptized, started his mission. He performed several miracles, including healing and casting out demons. However, he was later crucified on a cross. On the third day, he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.
I liked that, after each quoted scripture, the author includes its original location in the Bible. For example, when Jesus went for fasting in the wilderness, the devil tempted him, quoting several scriptures. Jesus also countered his temptations by quoting some other scriptures. The author highlights these quotes and shows the reader their exact location in the Bible. The author also keeps most of the original words used in the Bible and only changes some of them when necessary. This ensures that the meaning of these words is not altered. Since I didn’t find any grammatical errors throughout my reading, this book was exceptionally edited.
The only thing I disliked is that the author attempts to keep the verses as they are, even after altering some words. The effect of this is that some verses made little sense after some words were altered. For example, Matthew 3:3 (KJV) says,
The author, in this book, changed the word “ye” to “you” without altering the structure of the verse. It, therefore, reads:For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
As you may have noticed, the resultant sentence doesn’t make as much sense as the original one.For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare you the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’”
Although there are a few sentences that need some adjustments, the author did a marvelous job of updating the Bible. Since my reading wasn’t affected by the aforementioned dislike, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading the King James Version of the Bible, but find it hard to interpret the old English words. However, the book is only for the Christian faithful. Those of other religions may not find it useful.
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Gospel King James Version Americanized
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