* Project Announcement *

We have a publishing contract for the project. We are now seeking pastors who are willing to review the work on the KJV update before publication. If you are a pastor and are interested in doing so, please contact us via email at the following address.  contact@thsbiblesociety.org   Or if you know a pastor who may be interested, we encourage you to spread the word. Please help us and be praying about what God is doing through this project. May God be magnified.

The State of the KJV in 2024

A considerable amount of the text of the King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Bible has become antiquated. The meanings of words have changed since the KJV was translated more than 400 years ago. Many verb forms are archaic today (e.g. hast and believeth). The spellings of some words have changed, such as “musick” and “shew.”

Many words in the KJV are no longer well known today in 2024. As a result, many readers end up studying the same archaic words to understand what they mean. And if they forget later, then they need to do it again. This is a needless situation that takes time and effort that could be better spent elsewhere. Would it not be better for one group of Christians to study the archaisms for everyone, and then use their work to produce an updated KJV for the benefit of all? That is part of the idea behind this endeavor. There is no reason that so many people who trust the translation of the KJV as the Holy Scriptures should have to continue to read God’s word in unused, archaic language.  And let us also consider those listeners of the KJV who are not sitting at their computers or in front of a stack of study aids. For God’s people sitting in church hearing these outdated and unknown words, the speaker is simply talking into the air  (1 Corinthians 14:9). It is reasonable to conclude then that an update to the KJV could be immensely helpful to the readers and hearers of the holy Scriptures.

Imagine the KJV 2024

The Holy Scriptures Bible Society is conducting a project to update the language of the KJV without changing the meaning. The idea of the KJV 2024 expresses well the vision of the undertaking. The goal for this project is to minimally update the archaic text of the current KJV, which is actually the 1769 version. Some people are under the mistaken belief that this is what the New King James Version (NKJV) does. Actually, the NKJV contains new and original translation that does not agree with the KJV in many verses. There are other significant differences as well. So the NKJV does not satisfy the need for an updated KJV with the same meaning as the original for the entire Bible, nor has a definitive and widely accepted update yet been produced. This is truly a mammoth undertaking. But God is surely capable of completing the task successfully through his children. Our faith is not in ourselves, but in the Almighty God, the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth. For those who claim such a challenge is impossible today, they should consider the words of the Scriptures that nothing is impossible with God. This is a project to serve those who are members and non-members of the body of Christ who wish to read and hear the word of God in a form of English that is known and used today, which the KJV does not use.

Working to Update the KJV in 2024

This project to modernize the language of the KJV began in the spring of 2019. As with the translation of the KJV, the plan of this project is for a large group of God’s servants to work together to produce a high quality Bible. Having many people work on and review the revision should help to find the antiquated words and phrases, update the text with excellence, as well as purge out any errors in the revision. However, it has been challenging to find highly qualified individuals who are willing to voluntarily serve in this enterprise. So far, very little funding has been obtained. Therefore, the Bible Society conducting the project is unable to pay the laborers for their work on the text. This is a non-profit project; the reason for it is not to make money, but rather to serve the Lord and people in the work of the Scriptures. Please join us in prayer to ask for the Lord’s help and blessing for the task before us. This website has been created primarily to help people find the project. For more details, please visit the main project website at www.kjvupdate.com. God bless you.