Freely distributable. Public Domain. True to the Authorized Version. Updated for modern reading using today’s computing technology. Completed on 25^th December, 2000. A Christmas gift to the world.

This translation/update is in the Public Domain, so feel free to copy, publish, and use it. No permission in whatsoever form is needed. You already have 100% permission to publish, copy, and distribute the Updated King James Version (UKJV) as much as you want to in any form. However the author of “Translator” requests that the following be observed: -

i)                    A credit line with the following words “I love Jesus (UKJV).” To be stated in the copyright page of the work that involves the UKJV.

ii)                   No modifications to the UKJV, this does NOT include typographical corrections or adding of studies notes, comments and layouts modifications, which are essential to any publications. However NO addition of footnotes that indicates the preference of other manuscripts superiority in any form are allowed, e.g. “Most reliable manuscripts does not have so and so”, “The verse x-x are not found in Vaticanus/Sinaiticus” etc.

Download Updated KJV below!

Read the PREFACE to the Updated King James Version (UKJV) here!

Read the Gospel of John here!

See the “Translator” generated log here! It contains every single verse that was updated and what word was used.

Download by clicking on one of the formats below (Updated May 2009! with better PDF, DOC format and corrections)

What is the Updated KJV (UKJV) about?

It is an update of archaic words and certain expressions in the Authorized King James Version. This is done using software known only as the “Translator”.  The program searches the entire text of the KJV and replaces words that are archaic and old expressions taken from a special dictionary. This dictionary contains words that are selected by ‘contextual’ comparison that are done manually by examining the original Hebrew/Greek words in the Strong’s concordance.

In fact, the Updated KJV is NOT a new translation. It’s retains the unique structure of the KJV English and makes it easier to read and understand by replacing words and phrases that are hard/archaic in nature.

Why another English translation?

An excellent project that provides free version based on the ASV (http://www.ebible.org/) has given the answer to this question. To Quote Michael Paul Johnson (World English Bible): -

”That is a good question. There are more than 40 English translations of the
Holy Bible. Unfortunately, all of them are either (1) archaic (like the KJV
and ASV of 1901), or (2) covered by copyright restrictions that prevent
unrestricted free posting on the internet or other media (like the NIV and
NASB). The Bible in Basic English (BBE) was in the Public Domain in the USA
(but not all countries) for a while, but its copyrighted status was restored
by GATT. (The BBE used a rather restricted subset of English, anyway,
limiting its accuracy and readability.)In other words, there is NO OTHER
complete translation of the Holy Bible in normal Modern English that can be
freely copied (except for some limited "fair use") without payment of
royalties”

Since work on the ASV has already begun and the author of “Translator” prefers the Textus Receptus (text used by the KJV), it is only natural that the renowned KJV be updated to fit today’s generation understanding of words. This version and the author of “translator” do not imply that rebelling against today’s copyright system is a right thing to do. It’s just that as Christians, is it not our responsibility to freely distribute the Word of God? This version is a result of a personal conviction of the author of the “Translator”.

Glory to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

What are the changes in the KJV what is the process like?

Total changes made as a result of  “Translator” are LESS than 6% of the Authorized KJV. Surprisingly this amount was enough to produce a decent update of the KJV and at the same time retains the flow and uniqueness of the English structure that is found in the KJV.

The “Translator” produced a log file containing every single word/phrase that is updated and the statistics of the update process (time, verses, frequency and percentage).  Read the STATISTIC.TXT. The author of “Translator” is only involved in producing the customized dictionary that the “Translator” uses to replace the archaic words and expressions. Comparing textual contexts usage of the archaic words and the replacement for each particular word are carefully compared with other free translations (and the Strong’s Greek/Hebrew concordance) to verify its contextual fitness, all the while, giving priority to the Textus Receptus. Read the preface to know more about the guidelines in this updating process.

The author of “translator” has copies of NLT, NIV, NASB, NKJV and think that those are indeed very good translations. Different translations help in understanding scriptures.

Now concerning KJV/NKJV/KJV21 which differs from other modern translations. Here is a very brief highlight of why there are such arguments today. The underlying source used by KJV/NKJV/KJV21 is the Textus Receptus and there are differences from the other bibles due to the differences in source.

Example Luke 2:33. The Textus Receptus and Majority Text inerrantly renders it : "And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. "

Most modern translation based on non-Textus Receptus nor conformed to the Majority Text renders it : Luke 2:33. "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him"

This alone, testifies of the TR and Majority Text accuracy and reliability. The Word of God never made the mistake of labelling Joseph as the father of Jesus. Although this is a very minor issue for some but others it is everything.

Some argued that later in the verse Luke 2:48, Mary herself refered to Joseph as father of Jesus but note that those words are quoted of what Mary said not what the word of God itself said. That logic is as flawed as take the quote out of the pharisee in Matt 12:24 and to make a case that Jesus was a prince of the demons or to make that quote the same level as the scripture itself. Thus there is actually no counter to this simple verse, but lets not divide the believers on such matters.

Are you a Publisher?

Looking for PUBLISERS that are ready to publish this exciting update version!

If you are a PUBLISHER, you can request for any formatting you want and you will get it. Contact  updatedkjv@yahoo.com and include information of your publishing company.

This is a public domain work, so you don’t have to pay a cent to the “Author of “Translator””.

Who is this author of “Translator” and how do we contact him?

My name is not important; this is my assurance to you that this work is not done for any selfish reason. I think that its not important to know who I am etc. The fundamental answer is that I am a “born again believer” and I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior since 1990 and I believe that Jesus Christ is God. I work as an R&D manager and “Translator” is a program that I wrote. You can mail me at mailto:UpdatedKJV@yahoo.com. Please do not offer any financial help.

Credits and Links

The following people/software have helped the author of “translator” in making the process faster: -

i)                    http://www.onlinebible.org/ - An excellent bible tool! Contains Strong’s Greek/Hebrew and also Textus Receptus files

ii)                   http://www.microsoft.com/ - Microsoft Word – Great built-in spellchecker feature and perfect typing tool

iii)                 http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud- David’s Cloud KJV Dictionary  - Good collection of archaic words and expressions

Other links to bible translations available for sale today:

http://www.lockman.org/ - Publisher of the NASB, a translation maany considered as the most literal.

http://www.zondervan.com/ - Publisher of NIV, AMPLIFIED and other bbibles.

http://www.newlivingtranslation.com/ - Texts used for “The Book”, a 1996 transslation that is very readable

http://www.bible.com/ - Gateway to some other interesting bible links

KJV only controversies - An article that KJV advocates should openly read and evaluate. Lets stop fighting and start reaching out!

The author of “translator” is not related in anyway except to use that particular software/info of the above-mentioned sites.

Note:

Sep-2008 – Message from the Author of the “Translator”

There are also a number of people, praise God for them, who wrote and suggested some correction to some auto-translation that was done by the “Translator” replacement. Translations done by the “Translator” does sounds rigid in some of its replacement, but such rigidness is unavoidable given the condition that it was automated and “unbiased”.

The main aim is never to corrupt or bring confusion to our already saturated market of translations, but a free, royalty free readable translation by all, Word of God without chains.

Finally, to avoid some good intention folks from masquerading as the Author of “Translator” and since the “Translator” program itself is no longer active, here I would state just 4 initial that forms my name in the event of a dispute or for those who must attribute this work to an “author” tag as noted in some submission of texts. The author of  “Translator” can be referred to as MLWC.

Special thanks to John Rivera for "sayest" translation correction, updated on May 2009