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"The climax to these years of labor [English translations] was the Authorized Version, published and translated in 1611 by a committee of forty-seven scholars who met at the suggestion of King James I. In beauty of diction and fidelity to the spirit (though not always to the letter of the original) it is the acknowledged leader of all English translations. The greatest monument of English prose, it is without equal in our entire literature. Even now, after more than three hundred years, it remains by far the most widely used version in the language, and it is safe to say that it will never lose this place. For two hundred seventy years the Authorized Version held unchallenged sway among English speaking peoples. Then, from 1881 to 1885, there met in Great Britain a group of English and American scholars. The result of their careful work was the Revised Version, in which many of the inaccuracies in the Authorized Version are, in the light of later research, corrected and obsolete words modernized. Again, in 1901, the American members of the Revision Committee published a translation containing some of the suggestions made by them in England , but not incorporated in the 1885 edition. This American Standard Version is noteworthy for the fact that, throughout the Old Testament, "Jehovah" is consistently used instead of "Lord." Of late, there have been a number of interesting attempts to put the Bible into modern speech. Among them the translations of Weymouth and Moffat are perhaps best known. That of Moffatt is more of a paraphrase than an exact translation, and, enlightening as it is, shows perhaps an unfortunate critical bias. Weymouth's New Testament is undoubtedly the best of the modern versions. But in none of these translations has a general improvement been made upon the Authorized Version. The gain, because of an occasional replacement of obsolete phrases, has been more than offset by a loss in dignity and beauty of expression. Like the Revised Versions, the translations in modern speech may fill a place as works of reference, but they can never supersede the great rendering of 1611." Frank Gaebelein, Exploring the Bible, Harper and Brothers, 1929, pgs. 31,33

My, my, my what a profession.

1. "Greatest monument of English prose..."
2. "It is without equal..."
3. "It remains the most widely used version..."
4. "It will never lose this place..."
5. "Held unchallenged sway..." -
6. "In none of these translations [RV, ASV, Moffat, Weymouth] has a general improvement been made..."
7. "Modern translations may fill a place as works of reference, but they can never supersede the great rendering of the 1611.."

Oh, yeah! What lofty words of profession! Amazing how textual critics blow kisses toward the AV!

Is Bro. Gaebelein making reference to the original languages or the original autographs?

Is Bro. Gaebelein so ignorant as to not realize it isn't the 1611 but the 1769 AV that people use?

Does Bro. Gaebelein realize that there are those on this board and others who believe that critical bias [NWT, Phillips for examples] is a reason for outright rejection of a version?

Does Bro. Gaebelein really want to consign modern versions to the "book shelf" [works of reference - you know the kind you can't check out of the library!]?