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Here is the now completed series of B.R.I.D.G.E. Ministries (Laredo, Texas) podcasts covering the doctrines of grace (the so called TULIP acrostic):Teachers include Dr. John Frame, Pastor Jeff Durbin, Pastor John Samson, Dr. James White, Dr. Tim Trumper� & Dr. Joel Beeke.1. The Sovereignty of God - Dr. John Frame: Podcast: Play in new window | Download

"And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." ~ Genesis 5:21-24There are two notable dispositions in the life of Enoch: before and after he begat Methuselah. The Bible teaches that he was sixty-five years old when his son was born, and after that he walked with God. Therefore the first disposition is that he did not walk with God in the first sixty-five years of his life; the second then being that he walked with God for the remaining three-hundred years before his death. The significance of his latter disposition will be dealt with in this article. In Genesis 5 the phrase "Enoch walked with God" is repeated twice. (This repetition, however, is not verbatim in the original language. The Hebrew text in the original MS includes the word ‘with' in the first rendering of this phrase, possibly offering a clue as to the depth of this relationship he had with ‘elohiym). This is significant in that it is unique throughout the entire Bible. The only other person who we know "walked with God" was Noah, and to him was this tribute ascribed to but once (Gen. 6:9). I'm not implying that repetition is indicative of a ‘closer,' or ‘better' walk, but just that it is noteworthy. It is because of this small but significant detail that I chose to write about Enoch as on of my favorite peoples from the history of the Old Testament. Part 1: Enoch the Prophet Before examining the latter disposition in Enoch's life, it will be important to note the meaning of his and his son's names. Enoch fittingly means ‘dedicated', while Methuselah means ‘his death shall bring'; or ‘when he dies, judgment.' Of Methuselah's name, Matthew Henry writes, "it was fair warning to a careless world, a long time before the judgment came." We know that in the year that Methuselah died came the flood. It would be reasonable to assume that God foreknew he would be taking his dedicated servant Enoch early (Gen. 5:24), and left a prophetic message bound within the name of his progeny. This aptly illustrates a mere fragment of the boundless wisdom of God, and of His sovereignty. The prophetic naming of Enoch's son and the subsequent change in his disposition are not simply coincidental. It would appear that they are somehow linked in implication.So with this knowledge of the coming catastrophe through his son, what did Enoch do for three-hundred years? We can't look any further into Enoch without examining what is said of him in the New Testament epistles: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." ~ Jude 1:14, 15 From Jude we learn that Enoch was a genuine prophet of God. The Holy Spirit sealed this information about Enoch into the Word of God through the writer of this epistle and that is all we need to know. Jewish legends aside, it is clear that the early church had at least an oral tradition about the prophecy of Enoch, and that it was important enough to God to be included in His holy book. And what was the prophecy? In the context of these verses from Jude, we understand that he prophesied that Jesus, with a multitude of His saints, is coming and they will execute judgment upon all of the ungodly men of the world. In Enoch's day, only seven generations from Adam, he was proclaiming the coming of a Messiah and the judgment on the wicked. His prophecy applied both to the antediluvian society in which he lived, and to the ages to come. These prophecies set the tone for the three-hundred years of Enoch's walk with God. They may be exemplary of his preaching in an increasingly evil and God-hating world. One would have to be quite intimate with God to continue in this work. Perhaps this life was passed on to Methuselah. Perhaps he trained his son for those three-hundred before he was, as the epistle to the Hebrews expounds, translated. Part 2: Enoch Walked With God Hebrews 11:5 - "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." The first prophecy of the Bible is in Gen. 3:15. The seed of the woman, Christ Jesus, will crush the head of Satan. This speaks of the hope of the Savior to come and his breaking of the curse brought on by Adam. Enoch's prophecy concerning the Messiah, as recorded in Jude, fits as the Bible's second prophecy (it would have been uttered during the 300 years after the birth of Methuselah; a time when we have no other recorded prophecies). This speaks of the judgment of the coming Messiah on the ungodly. Enoch, a righteous man, would have to have known the prophecy of Gen. 3:15 through oral tradition. We can assume this because it was spoken by God to Adam and pertained directly to Adam's lineage. Enoch, being only the seventh generation from Adam, would indeed have clung to the very words of God as they had been passed down through his contemporaries and forefathers. Some time after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch began walking with God. Undoubtedly he, knowing this prophecy of the coming Savior, and having had received himself a prophecy of God of this Savior's coming judgment, began to draw nearer to God than any of his forefathers had. The book of Hebrews tells us two more things about Enoch that pertain to his relationship with God: 1. In the book of Hebrews we read, "By faith Enoch was translated..." By faith in what? I believe this is tells of his pure, unrelenting faith in God which included everything God had spoken to man at that time. He had faith in the three prophecies of the eternal God that had come down to man thus far: the coming savior (the Lord had spoken this to Adam), the prophecy that God had revealed to him of the judgment of the coming Savior and His saints, and the prophecy of the coming catastrophe spoken of through the name of his first son, Methuselah. 2. Also in the book of Hebrews we read, "...for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." We know from the verse in Hebrews that follows this that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Enoch's life was a living testimony of faith and that he diligently sought after God, the rewarder of faith. From this we can also ascertain that Enoch must have had thoughts which were in alignment with the moral nature of God. Amos 3:3 says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" It is absolutely clear that Enoch was a man who walked with God, and in so walking with God he was in complete agreement with whatever God had to say. Enoch was surely in agreement with God's coming judgment on the wicked world that he lived in. Conclusion The Bible says that Enoch was translated, or, taken up to be with God. Little is known about this man of God except from what a few verses in Genesis, Hebrews and James tell us. However Enoch's testimony, as extrapolated through diligently studying the Word of God, reveals a great deal about this man. "He walked with God," it says twice about Enoch. He prophesied. He listened. He had faith. Although not always, because it is clear that for the first sixty-five years of his life he walked apart from God. Then, after a revelation from God in the prophetic naming of Enoch's son, we can imagine that he seems to put the pieces together: The coming Savior who will crush the head of the serpent; the coming catastrophe that will follow Methuselah's death; the newly revealed prophecy of God of the coming judgment of this Savior along with ten thousand saints. "And Enoch walked with God: And he was not; for God took him." His faith is counted among the faith of those who we regard as the patriarchs. It is a faith worth examining, for we live in an era not unlike that of Enoch, just before the flood. The kingdom of God is at hand, and we could be taken up at any moment.Able to write to you by the grace of God,Aaron EveringhamRomans 12:1,2 Aaron Everingham and his wife Brittany live in Edmonton, Canada, and by the loving grace of God they were saved through the ministry of an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church in June of 2007. He is currently preparing for a life of serving the Lord as a pastor of a local New Testament Baptist Church. For more articles like this one please visit his blog at Aharown Qadowsh.

You don't need to be a scholar to tell which Bible is the true one. God never intended His words of truth to be known or understood only by the scholars. They don't agree among themselves as to which text to follow or how to render it in English once they agree as to the text - as it witnessed by the conflicting NAS, NIV and NKJV. Jesus tells us "Beware of the scribes..." and in 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 "It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" There is an easy way for every Christian to test the multitude of conflicting Bible versions flooding the market today. Are they a true or a false witness? Mark 14:56 tells us: "For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together." In a court of law a false witness will sometimes or even usually tell the truth, but he betrays himself as a false witness by saying something either false, contradictory or absurd. So it is with the NKJV, NASB, NIV and all the other modern Bible versions competing for your money and your mind. So Christian friend, I ask you to sit for a little while in the jury box, listen to the testimonies, and determine which one is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Example #1 What is your righteousness before a holy and just God? Is it your own works or the imputed righteousness of our precious Lord Jesus Christ? The imputed righteousness of Christ is illustrated and clearly taught in the King James Bible of 1611. In the beginning, after Adam and Eve had sinned and hid themselves from God because they were naked, we are told in Genesis 3:21: "Unto Adam also and to is wife did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothed them." An innocent animal was slain, and its coat was made a covering for the naked, guilty pair. God has to cover us; we cannot cover ourselves acceptably before Him. Isaiah 61:10 beautifully expresses this truth: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness...as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Zechariah 3:1-4 illustrates the same truth. Satan stood at the right hand of Joshua the high priest to resist him. The Lord rebuked Satan. The Bible tells us that: "Joshua was clothed with filthy garments." But God said: "Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." In Matthew 22 our Saviour gives us a parable about a wedding where the guests were bidden to the feast. But the king saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. "And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Then the man was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness. You and I have no righteousness of our own doing. "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" -Isaiah 64:6. But praise our God for his wonderful Son, Jesus Christ. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21. "and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Philippians 3:9. All the preceding information was given to show the true doctrine so that the false teaching of the new versions will be seen more clearly. Revelation 19:7-9 tells us again of the wedding feast. V.7 "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS." This last phrase is consistent with the rest of Scripture that it is not our righteousness that makes us acceptable unto God, but the robe of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Versions that read just like the King James Bible are Tyndale's New Testament of 1534, Miles Coverdale 1535, the Bishop's Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible of 1599, Green’s interlinear, John Wesley's 1755 translation, Daniel Webster's of 1833, the Spanish Reina Valera of 1909 (el lino fino son las justificaciones de los santos), the 1744 French Martin - ("ce fin lin désigne la justice des Saints."), Luther's 1545 German Bible, Darby's translation, the Bible in Basic English 1970, Lamsa's translation of the Syriac Peshitta, the Third Millenium Bible, the 21st Century KJB version, and even the 2002 paraphrase called The Message which reads: "She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints." However, the Catholic Douay, New American (St. Joseph of 1970), and the Jehovah Witness Bibles read in a similar way to many modern versions. St. Joseph: "the linen dress is THE VIRTUOUS DEEDS of God's saints." The NKJV, NASB, ISV (2003 International Standard Version), the 2001 ESV (English Standard Version), the brand new Holman Christian Standard Bible, and the NIV have, “the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUS ACTS of the saints.” (or "the fine linen is the righteous deeds of God's people"). The Holman Standard reads: "For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints." That is the Catholic doctrine of works salvation and it is now taught in the NKJ, NIV, and NASB too. If our righteous acts or rignteous deeds are going to make up our wedding dress, it will be pretty soiled and tattered, don't you think?. At the very least, you have to admit that not all these versions teach the same truth in this verse. So which one is right? For a further development of the theology of this verse as it stands in the King James Bible please see my article here: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/Rev19-8.html (technical notes: The NASB concordance renders the word dikaioma as justification, requirements, ordinances, regulations and righteous acts. It is from the verb "to declare righteous". The context and Biblical consistency of doctrine must determine the meaning in a given text. If it be argued that the word is plural, so, I've been told, is righteousness in Isaiah 61:10. There are many words in the N.T. which are plural but are rendered as singular in English. Mt. 6:1 heaven, Mt.14:6 birthday, Mt. 16:7 bread, Mt. 22:2 marriage, John 1:13 blood, Acts 13:22 will, Acts. 19:19 price etc. Plus each saint, and there are many, has his own robe, thus many robes composed of the only one kind of righteousness which is Christ's. Example #2 God is sovereign and in control of his universe. Daniel 2:21 "he changeth the times and the seasons". Acts 1:7 "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power,"; Acts 17:31 "he hath appointed a day (already done) in the which he will judge the world in righteousness"; Rev. 9:15 "And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men." God alone is in control of time, even to the very hour. John 7:30: "Then they sought to take him; but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come." The KJV along with Tyndale, Geneva, Douay, Webster's 1833 translation, the KJV 21, Third Millenium Bible, Young's, and the Spanish Reina Valera correctly translate 2 Peter 3:11,12 "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and HASTING UNTO the coming of the day of God..." Tyndale,Geneva, Webster, KJV 21, TMB=KJV, Douay - hasten towards; Young - hasting to; Span. apresurándoos para la venida, while the RV, ASV have -earnestly desiring. But something has definitely changed in the new "bibles". The NKJV & NASB have "hastening the coming" and the NIV has "speed its coming". We cannot hurry up Gods timetable or affect it in any way. The new versions teach the opposite and contradict the rest of Scripture. For a further development and explanation of the theology of this verse as it stands in the King James Bible please see my article here: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/hastingunto.html Example #3 In 2 Sam.14, Joab enlists the help of a wise woman to change David's attitude toward his son Absalom. David apparently received the woman's message as from the Lord, because he allowed Absalom to return to Jerusalem. Part of the message is v.14; "For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered again; NEITHER DOTH GOD RESPECT ANY PERSON." In other words, we all die, regardless of wealth or social position. The Geneva Bible, Youngs translation, and the 1917 Jewish Pub. Co. of America Version all agree with the KJV. However, the NKJV, NASB, & NIV say "God does not take away life." This is a false statement. It contradicts 2 Sam. 12:15 just two chapters before where the Lord struck the child and he died. 1 Sam. 2:6 says: "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up..." and God himself testifies in Deut. 32:39; "I kill, and I make alive." This is not a case of the NKJV or NAS honestly examining the Hebrew, because both have rendered the same words in other places just as the KJV has them here. Why change what this wise woman said from the truth into a lie? For a further explanation of this verse please see my article here: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/2Sam14.html Example #4 A false witness can say something so utterly ridiculous that you know he is lying. Let's look at the NAS - the rapidly fading star of the scholarly types. Is it possible to deceive God? He knows our every thought and the words before they come out of our mouths. Of course, you say, no one can deceive God. Stupid statement #1 . Psalms 78 tells us of Israel's rebellion and sin against their God and of his continued compassion towards them. One of the people's many recorded sins is found in v.36: "they did FLATTER him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue." We can flatter God - say all kinds of nice things about him yet not really mean them. God is not fooled by mans false words of adoration. The ASV, NIV, NKJV, Darby, Geneva, RSV and NRSV all agree with the KJV that they flattered God. But the NAS says they DECEIVED him. That my Christian friend is an impossibility. I hope you aren't deceived into thinking the NASB is the true Bible. Stupid statement #2. Psalm 10:4 describes a wicked man: "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; GOD IS NOT IN ALL HIS THOUGHTS." In other words, in everything this man thinks, God never enters the picture. The NKJV, NIV agree with the KJV. But the NAS has "All his thoughts are 'There is no God.'" Not even the staunchest atheist walks around all day long thinking; "there is no god, there is no god, there is no god." Stupid statement #3. Ephesians 5:13 says along with the NKJV, NIV,ASV, Darby, Geneva and Spanish: "But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for WHATSOEVER DOTH MAKE MANIFEST IS LIGHT." In other words, the light of God's truth shows things for what they really are. It tells us what sin and unrighteousness are by exposing them. The NAS would have us believe "everything that becomes visible is light," Oh, really? Example #5 As a false witness will contradict himself, so too will a false bible. Hebrews 3 tells of the children of Israel who didn't believe God and hardened their hearts so as not to enter the promised land. Verse 16 says; "For some, when they had heard, did provoke; howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses." Tyndale, Geneva, Young and Reina Valera of 1602 agree with the KJV. However the NKJV,NIV & NAS say: "For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt by Moses?" You would naturally answer "Yes, it was all" to the new versions. But that is a lie, a contradiction and contrary to the whole sense of the passage. Joshua and Caleb believed God and eventually did enter the promised land along with thousands of the children of the parents who refused to believe God. The whole point of the passage is to believe God and enter into his rest. Be like Caleb and Joshua. Example #6 Who is in control of the world? Is it God or Satan? Jesus Christ said: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Mat.28:18. The Lord's prayer in Mat. 6:13 ends with :"For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever, Amen." This phrase is in brackets in the NAS and removed in the NIV. Jesus either said it or he didn't, they can't all be right. In Ephesians 1:20-22 it is said of Christ that God "raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet." Daniel 4:17,25,26 tell us that "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." II Cron. 20:6: "O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?" Satan is a liar from the beginning. When he told Jesus, during the temptation, that all the kingdoms of the world were his and that he gave them to whomsoever he would, he was lying. His statement directly contradicts Daniel 4:17 and the other Scriptures. But the NIV, NAS and NKJ have bought Satan's lie and are passing it off on to God's children. In 1 John 5:19 the KJV along with the Geneva, Tyndale, Youngs and the Spanish of 1602 say: "And we know that we are of God, and THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS." We live in a fallen world; it lies in sin; but God is still in control and ruling even though it may not appear that way. But the eye of faith sees his sovereignty and rejoices in this confidence. However the NIV says: "The whole world is under the control of the evil one." (Before you rush to your school boy Greek, check out your own version on the presence or lack of the definite article.) The NASB has "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." The NKJV tries to strike a medium with its: "lies under the sway of the wicked one" but it is also wrong when it calls Satan the "ruler of this world" in John 16:11. For further discussion of who rules the world, please see: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/riddle.html Example #7 Words and Numbers I believe God is very serious about his words and those who would tamper with them. Deut.4:2: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it." Proverbs 30:5,6 "Every word of God is pure...Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Also Rev. 22:18,19. The NAS and the NIV are both grievously guilty of adding to, diminishing from and changing the words of God. This is not just my opinion, but documented facts from their own "bibles" and concordances. I will give just a few of the many examples I have found. In Judges 16:13,14 the NAS & NIV add 33 extra words to the text, which are not found in any Hebrew manuscripts, but according to the NIV footnote are found in some Greek copies. In II Sam. 13:34 the NIV adds another 21 words from the Greek. They are not found in the NAS. And again the NIV adds another 15 words to Psalm 145:13 from the Syriac - which are not in the NAS. In Gen. 4:8 NIV adds from the Greek: "let us go out into the field." I have found well over 40 examples in the NASB and more than 80 in the NIV where they do not follow the Hebrew text but go with the Greek, Syriac, Targum etc. Here are documented facts about some of the many places where versions like the NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV, Holman Standard and other modern Bible versions reject the inspired Hebrew texts. See http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/NIVapos.html and http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/NIVapos2.html 2 Chronicles 22:2 tells us that Ahaziah was 42 years old when he began to reign. All Hebrew texts, plus the Revised Version, the ASV, Geneva, Darby, Young, Spanish, NKJV, and even the RSV & NRSV say 42. Yet the NAS & NIV change this number to 22 on the basis of the Syriac and some LXX copies. This information is in a footnote in the Scofield NIV of 1984. It is recorded in 2 Kings 8:26 that he was 22 years old. There is a rather easy solution to this apparent contradiction. Jehu was appointed by God to cut off the house of Ahab - 2 Cron.22:7. Ahaziah was son in law to Ahab - 2 Kings 8:27. So if you count how long each king related to Ahab reigned, you come up with exactly the 42nd year as a son of Ahab (related by marriage) when Ahaziah began to reign, though physically he was only 22. Ahab 1 Kings 16;29 -22 years reigned, Jehoram of Israel 12 years 2 Kings 3:1 and Jehoram of Judah 8 years 2 Chron. 21:5. Thus 22 + 12 + 8 =42. The new versions are based on unbelief. They say "This is a scribal error." They don't believe God has preserved his word without error. They do not have an inspired, inerrant Bible in their hands. Ask them and you will see. For a more in depth discussion of the 22 versus 42 "problem" please see http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/22or42.html A riddle is found within a riddle in Judges 14:12-18. Verse 15 says "it came to pass on the SEVENTH day". This is in all Hebrew texts, ASV,Geneva, Young, Darby, Douay, NKJ (but with misleading footnote) and Spanish. The NIV changes this to the FOURTH day with a footnote that says some LXX, Syriac 4th; Hebrew 7th. NAS also has FOURTH but no footnote. NAS NIV still have a contradiction because of v.17, 18. Can you solve the riddle? Hints: Could any days have intervened between v12 and v.15? And what would the first 7th day of v. 15 have meant to the Jewish Samson? There is no need to doubt God's Holy word. Get the KJV Holy Bible and stick with it. I have also developed a fuller explanation of the riddle within a riddle found here: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/riddle.html One last example dealing with numbers - though I have many more. In 1 Samuel 13:1 the KJV, NKJV, Geneva and Spanish say: "Saul reigned ONE year; and when he had reigned TWO years over Israel..." The NAS says: "Saul was 40 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 32 years over Israel." The NIV has: "Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty two years." Gleason Archer, one of the translators of the NIV, says in his book Bible Difficulties on page 171 that the Hebrew text here has been lost. How is that for God preserving his word?! The NAS & NIV not only disagree with each other but contradict Acts 13:21 where we are told that Saul reigned for 40 years. The Hebrew text is not lost. Check out the concordances of NAS- NIV and you will see they have at times translated the words "one" and "year" just as the KJV. For further development of the truth of this verse as it stands in the King James Bible, please see my article here: http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/wdslost.html "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it." The NIV complete concordance tells us that they have not translated THOUSANDS of Hebrew and Greek words. Here are just a few examples. Zechariah 1:7 NIV omits "saying". The NIV number for this word is #606. Their own concordance tells us they have "not translated" this word 878 times. Zech. 1:11 "Behold" is gone. NIV #2180 not translated 550 times. Zech 1:18 omits "mine eyes" #6524 36 times not translated; "saw" and "behold" also are gone from this same verse. "Children" #1201 not translated 237 times; Zech. 8:17 omits "in your hearts", Zech. 8:19 omits the word "fast" 3 of the 4 times it occurs in this verse. Zech. 9:1 omits "burden". All of these words are in the NAS, NKJ, and of course the KJV. The NIV has over 64,000 fewer words in it than the KJV. It does not translate the words "it came to pass" (also, to be, happen, occur) #2118 887 times. The words "I pray thee" #5228 in NIV are not translated 297 times out of the 405 times it occurs in the Hebrew text. See how the omission of this simple phrase changes a request into a demand. In Exodus 33:18 Moses speaks to God: "And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." NIV: "Then Moses said, 'Now show me your glory.'" This type of "bible" may appeal to the blab it and grab it crowd, but it is not the pure word of God. The NAS 95 Update version omits almost 8000 words from the Greek and Hebrew texts which were previously in the NAS 1977 edition. Perhaps they reason we don't talk in that old fashioned way any more, so let's update the language to a more modern usage. But I ask you, if this book is indeed Gods holy words of truth, and he wrote it in this manner, what or who gives the modern scholars the right to edit Gods word? Thank you for your time and attention. May God give you the grace and humility to come to the correct verdict and the only correct version. Through the electing grace of God, washed in the blood of the Lamb, a brother in Christ Jesus our Lord, Will Kinney