Acts 7:30
 
Acts 7:30
(KJV) And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
(1611 KJV) And when fourtie yeeres were expired, there appeared to him in the wildernes of mount Sina, an Angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
(1568 Bishop’s Bible) And whe fourtie yeres were expired, there appeared to hym in the wyldernesse of mount Sina, an Angel of the Lorde in a flambe of fire in a busshe.
(1526 Tyndale) And when .xl. yeares were expired ther appered to him in the wyldernes of mounte Syna an angell of the Lorde in a flamme of fyre in a busshe.
 
Counterfeit Versions
(CSB) After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
(NIV) "After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
(NASV) "After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH.
(THE MESSAGE) "Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush.
(AMP) And when forty years had gone by, there appeared to him in the wilderness (desert) of Mount Sinai an angel, in the flame of a burning bramblebush.
(NLT) “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.
(ESV) "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
(CEV) Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
(1901 ASV) And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
(NLV) Forty years passed and Moses was near Mount Sinai where no people live. There he saw an angel in the fire of a burning bush.
(HCSB) After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
(NCV) "Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai.
(RSV) "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
(NAB-Roman Catholic) "Forty years later, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush.
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) “And when forty years were fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Si´nai an angel in the fiery flame of a thornbush.
 
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
kai plhrwqentwn etwn tessarakonta wjqh autw en th erhmw tou orouV sina aggeloV kuriou en jlogi puroV batou
 
Hort Westcott - Critical Text
kai plhrwqentwn etwn tesserakonta wjqh autw en th erhmw tou orouV sina aggeloV en jlogi puroV batou
 
Corrupted Manuscripts
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
 
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
E 08 - Sixth century
P 025 - Ninth century
 
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Omit “of the Lord” after “angel”
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
 
Affected Teaching
(Exo 19:18-21 KJV) And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. {19} And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. {20} And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. {21} And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.
 
Acts 7:30 is taken out of the narrative from Exodus 19:18-21. In Exodus 19:18-21 we read that it was God Himself who came to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The term “Angel of the Lord” is used as a synonym for God Himself. As we see in the narrative from Judges 13 where the parents of Samson was visited by an Angel of the Lord. When we read further into the Scriptures, we read in Judges 13:22 that Manoah thought he and his wife would die because they saw God.
 
(Judg 13:16 KJV) And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
 
(Judg 13:22 KJV) And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
 
Manoah and his wife surely would not have been fearful of losing their lives if they just saw an angel. The King James Bible keeps the phrase “of the Lord” intact in Acts 7:30 because it is speaking of God Himself visiting Moses on Sinai. The modern versions omit “of the Lord” thus reducing God to a mere created angel. The hard thing to understand is that the proponents of the modern versions claim that no doctrines are affected. Here we see plainly in Acts 7:30 in the modern versions that God is reduced to a created angel. If that is not a doctrine affected by the modern versions, then I don’t know what is! God is the Creator of the angels and can never be identified as an angel without the qualifier “of the Lord” attached so we know who we are specifically speaking of. Once again the King James Bible shows it is a God glorifying Bible as it gives God his rightful place as Sovereign of the universe while the modern versions reduce Him to an angel.

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