Is the KJV the best Bible translation? There are many evangelical Christians who believe so. Some go as far to say that it is the only translation that we should use. In the recent past there has been great debates over this topic. Most of the debates revolve around the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the various translations. Dr. James White has done some excellent research and apologetics on this topic which you can read about in his book "The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations?" One of the main arguments for KJV only is that it is better or more accurate than any other translation. Some go as far to say that it is more accurate than the original documents that the apostles wrote themselves! This illogical argument is one that not even the translators of the original King James Bible would agree with. I know this because they told us themselves. It is in the introduction to the original 1611 King James Bible. I have provided a link to this in PDF form. (Introduction Only, Full KJV Bible with Introduction)
However, all of those arguments miss the main point. The main point being Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (NIV). No matter what translation you use, you need to get the point across! I find it ironic that the very reason the King James Bible was translated (according to its translators) is the very reason it should not be used in pulpits today! If you read the the introduction to the original 1611 King James Bible, you will notice a few things. The first thing that you will notice is that they are very long winded (and hard to understand), but If you take the time to read the introduction you will notice that the translators are making a defense for themselves. They knew that what they were doing was highly controversial around the world, and they give a number of reasons for making a non-latin version of the Bible. Their main reason for making the KJV (besides being ordered to by King James) was because the english speaking people of their day had no translation that they could understand. The plain and simple fact is that the KJV is a dead language. It is over 400 years old. No one uses that language or speaks it anymore. People no longer understand it. The KJV was a good and useful translation for many years, as is the NIV and the ESV today. I fully expect the NIV and ESV to some day be outdated to the point where they are no longer easy to understand by the general public as well. While the KJV is still an excellent refrence and study tool, I would no sooner give an American person a KJV Bible as I would give them a Latin, Greek or German Bible. (That is unless I had no other englsh Bible to give them.) I have helped lead a number of people to Christ and most (if not all of them) already had a copy of the KJV Bible. The most helpful thing I did was to give them an ESV or NIV Bible. Once they could read and understand the meanings of the words for themselves, then the Word became effective!
Also, if the KJV is the only "good" translation, what do we do with all the non-english speaking people of the world? If the KJV is the only "good" translation then why are we training and sending missionaries into the world to lean new languages and translate the Bible into other tongues? It makes no sense. In order to support missionaries translating the Bible into other languages and still hold to "KJV only", you have to use the logic of "other translations are okay unless you know the english language. If you know the english language then the KJV is the only translation that is good." This is utter nonsense.
I find it interesting that many of the reasons people say we should use the KJV (such as it is more accurate) are the same reasons that the Roman Catholic Church gave for saying we can only use the Latin version of the Bible. Also like the Roman Catholics of yester year, it is much easier to lead people astray if the pastor (or bishop) is the only person who can understand what it says. Here is the logic that is used. "The (KJV or Latin Version) is the only translation that we can use, and since you can't understand what it means then I am going to have to explain it to you." This opens the door wide to false teachings. Now I am not saying that all pastors who use the KJV are doing this, but I have certainly seen it done multiple times.
The principle that we find in the Bible is that we are to love our neighbor (Leviticus 19:9-18, Mark 12:30-31). We are to tell others about God and God's love (Matthew 28:19). We are to be all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). This means that we need to learn their language and take the Gospel message to them in their own language. We can not hold God's Word for ourselves in a language that only we can understand. We can not expect the world to learn our language before we take God's Word to them.
The best thing about the KJV today is that it is now public domain (as I personally beleive all Bible translations should be). This means that we can copy it and share it as often as we want without the government getting in the way. So please do so as I have provided a link on my downloads page. A translation that is hard to understand is better than no translation at all.