An
Amazing Fact About the
By Dr. Ken
Matto
When the King
James Bible was translated in 1611 because it was authorized by the Crown, the
Crown or Government of Great Britain held the copyright on it.
It was called “The Authorized Version” until the early 1800s when
Christians started to refer to it as the
King James Bible. One of the
reasons that the 13 colonies broke away from England was for freedom.
The colonies were being highly taxed and the citizens of the colonies had
it rough under the Crown.
The main reason
that the 13 colonies broke away from England was because it was divinely
directed. When we broke away from
England in 1776 by the Declaration of Independence and finally winning the war
in 1781 it meant that all agreements and copyrights with England were now null
and void. This meant that the King
James Bible was now public domain and had free course to be preached all over
the world by Americans. No longer
was the King James Bible tied to a copyright but was totally freed for unlimited
usage.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
(Matthew 10:8)
Just as Christ died to free the believer from the penalty and effects
from sin, it was the American patriot who died for more than freedom, they died
to give the true Bible free course and set the world before them as one big
field of evangelism. The King James
Bible was bathed in the blood of Christian martyrs in the lineage leading up to
the final translation. Then it was
bathed in the blood of the American Patriot.
Guess what Bible was in use when the colonial pulpits thundered out the
call for freedom and the call to arms?
No wonder God blesses the King James Bible and no other because>>Precious
in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
(Psalm 116:15)
It was God who
freed the Bible to make this country the center for world evangelism.
You need no one’s permission to quote the Bible and you can quote it all
you want because you cannot copyright the Word of God, you can only copyright
the words of man. Let’s look at
what the modern versions require and see if they are God’s word or man’s.
Christian
Standard Bible – 1000 verses then you need permission
“Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from
the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used
by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered
trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Requests for permission beyond the 1,000 verses should be directed to and
approved in writing by Holman Bible Publishers, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville,
Tennessee 37234.”
English Standard Version – 500 verses then you need
permission
“The ESV text may be quoted (in written or print form) up to and inclusive of
five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher,
providing that the verses quoted do not amount to more than one-half of any one
book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 25 percent or more of the
total text of the work in which they are quoted.”
New International Version – 500 verses then you need permission
“The New International Version (NIV) text may be quoted in any form (written,
visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses
without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses
quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted
account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in
which they are quoted.”
New American Standard Bible – 500 verses then you need permission
The text
of the New American Standard Bible® may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and
inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of The
Lockman Foundation, providing the verses do not amount to a complete book of the
Bible nor do the verses quoted account for more than 25% of the total work in
which they are quoted.
Revised
Standard and New Revised Standard Version – 500 verses then permission needed
GRATIS USE
POLICY Up to 500 verses of the RSV or NRSV may be quoted in any
form (written, visual, electronic or audio) without charge and without obtaining
written permission provided that all of the following conditions are met:
a. The total number of verses quoted is:
· less than an entire book of the Bible, and
· less than 500 verses (total), and
· less than 50 percent of the total number of words in the work in which they
are quoted
New King James Version – 500 verses then you need
permission
“The text from the New King James Version® (NKJV®) may
be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and
inclusive of 500 verses or less without written permission, providing the verses
quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible, nor do verses quoted
account for 25% or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted,
and the verses are not being quoted in a commentary or other biblical reference
work.”
Here are six major modern versions which PROHIBIT you
from quoting their Bibles over a certain amount of verses without permission
from them. The King James Bible has
no such prohibition on any amount of verses you wish to quote.
Remember, you can copyright man’s words but not God’s Word.
Guess which category the modern versions fall under?