James White & Thomas Ross Debate Review #3: The Epistle Dedicatory: KJV Translators Say KJV is Best

James White & Thomas Ross debated the topic: “The Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), as a representative of modern English translations based upon the UBS/NA text (the Greek New Testament printed by the United Bible Society, which is also the text of the Nestle-Aland), is superior to the KJV (King James Version), as a representative of TR-based (Textus Receptus or Received Text based) Bible translations.” This King James Only or King James Version Only (KJVO) or Confessional Bibliology debate took place on February 18, 2023.Show more

This video is part three of a series of debate review videos by Thomas Ross of the arguments made by both sides of the debate. James White's first argument in this King James Only debate was that (if they were alive today) the King James Version translators would prefer the Legacy Standard Bible to the King James Bible. James White argued:

“[T]he Legacy Standard Bible is superior to the King James Version and I believe very, very, firmly the King James translators would be on my side in this debate; I believe that they would definitely support the thesis that I am putting forward … I wish to point out a startling reality. I believe firmly that the King James translators would be completely on my side in the debate today.” (10:00-12:00). He reiterated at the end of the debate that the perfect preservationist, Textus Receptus-based KJVO viewpoint defended by Thomas Ross was wrong. The “King James translators would never adopt the perspective that has been presented this evening” (2:50:00-2:51:00).

Similarly, James White's The King James Only Controversy argues: "one of the most eloquent arguments against KJV Onlyism is provided, ironically enough, by the translators themselves … from the preface to the 1611 KJV" (pgs. 117-118).

Should we believe that the King James Version translators would be “very, very firmly” against their own Textus Receptus-based translation, instead adopting the Nestle-Aland text while viewing the translation philosophy and choices of the Legacy Standard Bible as so superior that they would be “completely” on James White’s side in the debate? What evidence did James White give in the debate for these astonishing affirmations? He did NOT quote or reference any writing, disputation, sermon, or other primary source from any specific King James translator, either in the debate or in his book, The King James Only Controversy. Not only are no writings of any KJV translator quoted anywhere in the hundreds of pages of his book, but not even one book by any KJV translator appears in his bibliography. James White has indicated in writing on multiple occasions that he only spent a few months writing his King James Only Controversy, so perhaps the great haste with which his book was written explains his failure to interact seriously, or even interact at all, with the writings of the KJV translators before making his claims about what they would believe were they alive today. It is unfortunate, however, that in the decades since The King James Only Controversy was published that James White has not taken the time to make sure that what he is claiming is historically accurate, and that even in this debate he continued to make claims about the King James translators that are simply highly problematic.

What evidence did James give for his “very, very fir[m]” belief that the KJV translators would be “completely” on his side in the debate? Both in the debate, and in his King James Only Controversy, the only source that is cited in order to prove James’ astonishing claim about the KJV translators is the prefatory material to the KJV. So what can we learn from the preface to the KJV—does it prove White’s claim that the KJV translators would reject their own Greek text and English translation today to adopt a Greek and English text that attacks inerrancy, the resurrection appearances in Mark, etc.?

The 1611 King James Versions' Epistle Dedicatory, however, completely contradicts the claims of James White. The translators said that their English Bible was better than all other English versions. They referred to the KJV as “one more exact Translation,” a more accurate version than the previous Bibles in English. Having their better translation was not a matter of indifference, but one of great “importance.” They thought their version was better, and that it was important that everyone recognize and act on that fact. So do KJV-Only advocates think today—they agree completely with what the KJV translators say in the Epistle Dedicatory on this issue.

James White himself concedes the incredible scholarship of the KJV translators in his King James Only Controversy. He wrote:

"The men who worked on the AV translation nearly four hundred years ago were great scholars. No one can possibly dispute this. … [T]he great scholars who labored upon the AV … by and large the group encompassed some of the finest scholars the world has ever seen." (pgs. 115, 278, 334).