How do we, nearly 2,000 years after the apostles, know we are reading God’s inspired Word? This question once drove me to study how the Bible has been preserved across centuries of copying, translating, and human error. Growing up in a King James-only church, I believed God must have preserved his Word perfectly—free from mistakes. But as I studied the origins of the King James Bible and the broader history of Scripture, I discovered something more complex yet profoundly reassuring.

The Bible’s preservation wasn’t through a perfect line of manuscripts. Instead, it was through the remarkable process of faithful, though imperfect, copying and widespread distribution. Scribes made mistakes—skipping words, repeating lines, or even adding phrases unintentionally. These variations, called textual variants, might seem troubling at first. Yet, they serve as evidence of God’s providence. By allowing thousands of manuscripts to be copied and scattered across the world, God ensured that no single error could corrupt his Word.

Take, for example, Colossians 1:2. In the King James Version, the verse reads, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Modern versions like the ESV end the verse earlier: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Why the difference? The phrase “and the Lord Jesus Christ” appears in later manuscripts but not in the earliest ones. It’s likely a scribe, familiar with similar greetings in Paul’s letters, added the phrase from memory.

Another example is John 5:4, which explains why the lame man at the pool of Bethesda wanted to enter the water. An angel supposedly stirred it for healing. This verse, present in the King James, is missing in many modern translations because early manuscripts don’t include it. Scholars believe it may have originated as a scribe’s explanatory note that was later copied into the text.

Far from undermining our confidence in Scripture, these examples highlight the value of textual criticism—the process of analyzing manuscript differences to discern the original wording. With thousands of manuscripts to compare, scholars can spot errors and reconstruct the Bible’s text with remarkable accuracy. Unlike having only one manuscript, where errors would go undetected, the abundance of copies strengthens our confidence in God’s preserved Word.

God’s preservation of Scripture mirrors how he sustains the church. Just as the church has endured false doctrines and divisions while remaining Christ’s body, the Bible has endured human errors while remaining God’s Word. Instead of a perfect, unbroken line of manuscripts, God works within the messiness of history to spread his Word far and wide, ensuring it is never destroyed or lost.

Despite differences in translations, the Bible’s core message remains unchanged. Whether you read the King James, ESV, or another version, the truths of Scripture shine through. God’s providence ensures that we hold his inspired Word in our hands today.

Recommended reading

Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism by Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry

The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman 

The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations? by James R. White

Know How We Got Our Bible by Ryan M. Reeves and Charles Hill

Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible by John D. Meade and Peter J. Gurry

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