The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

, the founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, who said that the JST/IV was intended to restore what he described as "many important points touching the salvation of men,

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled". Smith

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

before he deemed it complete, though most of his work on it was performed about a decade beforehand. The work is the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

of the Bible (KJV) with some significant additions and revisions. It is considered a sacred text and is part of the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Community of Christ (CoC), formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and other Latter Day Saint churches. Selections from the Joseph Smith Translation are also included in the footnotes and the appendix of the LDS-published King James Version of the Bible, but

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) has only officially canonized certain excerpts that appear in its Pearl of Great Price. These excerpts are the

Book of Moses The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man (Moses chapter 1), a ...

and Smith's revision of part of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

Translation

The work of revision

As with Smith's other translations, he reported that he was forced to "study it out in ismind" as part of the revelatory process. During the process, Smith occasionally revisited a given passage of scripture at a later time to give it a "plainer translation." Philip Barlow observes the six basic types of changes: :*Long additions that have little or no biblical parallel, such as the visions of Moses and Enoch, and the passage on

Melchizedek In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...

:*“Common-sense” changes (e.g., Genesis 6:6 “And it repented the Lord that he had made man” is revised in Moses 8:25 to read: “And it repented Noah, and his heart was pained that the Lord had made man”. God, being perfect, needs no repentance.) :*“Interpretive additions”, often signaled by the phrase “or in other words,” appending to a passage to clarify :*“Harmonization”, reconciled passages that seemed to conflict with other passages :*"Not easily classifiable", frequently the meaning is changed, often idiosyncratically :*Grammatical improvements, technical clarifications, and modernization of terms (by far the most common within the JST/IV) The JST/IV was a work in progress throughout Smith's ministry, the bulk between June 1830 and July 1833. Some parts of the revision ( Genesis and the

four Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

) were completed from beginning to end, including unchanged verses from the KJV; some parts were revised more than once, and others revised one verse at a time. The manuscripts were written, re-written, and in some cases, additional edits were written in the columns, pinned to the paper or otherwise attached. Smith relied on a version of the Bible that included the

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

, and marked off the Bible as verses were examined (the Apocrypha was not included in the JST). By 1833, Smith said it was sufficiently complete that preparations for publication could begin, though continual lack of time and means prevented it from appearing in its entirety during his lifetime. He continued to make a few revisions and to prepare the manuscript for printing until he was killed in 1844. Regarding the completeness of the JST/IV as we have it, Robert Matthews has written:

e manuscript shows that Smith went all the way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. But it also shows that he did not make all the necessary corrections in one effort. This situation makes it impossible to give a statistical answer to questions about how much of the Translation was completed or how much was not completed. What is evident, however, is that any part of the Translation might have been further touched upon and improved by additional revelation and emendation by Smith.

Use of other texts

Some scholars infer that Smith had access to Old Testament

pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pse ...

and included insights from these texts in his translation. In March 2017,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) professor Thomas A. Wayment and his undergraduate research assistant Haley Wilson-Lemmón published a notice in BYU’s ''Journal of Undergraduate Research'' suggesting that Smith borrowed heavily from

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Adam Clarke's famous Bible commentary. They contend that "direct parallels between Smith's translation and Adam Clarke's biblical commentary are simply too numerous and explicit to posit happenstance or coincidental overlap." They further posit that this evidence is sufficient to "demonstrate Smith's open reliance upon Clarke" before suggesting

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...

was likely responsible for urging the use of Clarke's source material. In a May 2018 interview, Wilson-Lemmón indicated that she had provided copies of the research manuscript to the dean of

BYU Religious Education Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) (formerly called the College of Religious Education) administers programs related to Latter-day Saint religious teaching at the university. In the past, it has granted various master's and Doc ...

. Wayment and Wilson-Lemmón subsequently provided copies to the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church. This prompted a meeting between Wayment and unidentified church authorities, after which they "got the green light" to publish. Wayment and Wilson-Lemmón’s findings were then published in full on June 26, 2020 in ''Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith's Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity'' published through University of Utah Press. Wayment then published another article on the topic in the July 2020 issue of the ''

Journal of Mormon History The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...

''. In October 2020, Latter-day Saint JST scholar and then-former BYU professor Kent P. Jackson published a rebuttal to the findings of Wayment and Wilson-Lemmón in ''Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship''. Jackson argues that "none of the examples provide can be traced to Clarke’s commentary, and almost all of them can be explained easily by other means...The few overlaps that do exist are vague, superficial, and coincidental...I do not believe there is Adam Clarke-JST connection at all

Doctrinal development

Many of Smith's revisions to the Bible led to significant developments in the doctrines of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

. During the process of translation, when he came across troubling biblical issues, Smith often dictated revelations relevant to himself, his associates, or the church. About half of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are in some way connected to this translation process, including background on the Apocrypha (LDS D&Cbr>section 91
CofC D&C 88), the three

degrees of glory In the Mormon theology and cosmology there are three degrees of glory (alternatively, kingdoms of glory) which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected from the spirit world. Member ...

(LDS section 76 CofC Section 85), the eternal nature of marriage and plural marriage (LDS section 132), teachings on baptism for the dead (LDS section 124 CofC Section 107), and various revelations on priesthood (LDS sections 84, 88, 107 CofC Sections 83, 104). Overall, 3,410 verses in the printed editions of JST/IV differ in textual construction from the KJV (this uses the verse numbering of the JST/IV as the basis for comparison). Of the total of 1,289 verses changed in the Old Testament, 25 correspond to the additions of Book of Moses chapter 1, and 662 occur in the Book of Genesis. Hence, more than half of the changed verses in the JST/IV Old Testament and 20 percent of those in the entire JST/IV Bible are contained in Moses chapter 1 and Genesis, with the most extensive modifications occurring in Genesis chapters 1–24. As a proportion of page count, changes in Genesis occur four times more frequently than in the New Testament and twenty-one times more frequently than in the rest of the Old Testament. The changes in Genesis are not only more numerous, but also more significant in the degree of doctrinal and historical expansion. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw has suggested that one reason for this emphasis may have been "early tutoring in temple-related doctrines received by Joseph Smith as he revised and expanded Genesis 1–24, in conjunction with his later translation of relevant passages in the New Testament and, for example, the stories of Moses and Elijah." Additional evidence suggests that the Book of Moses itself could be seen as a temple text, in the sense discussed by BYU professor John W. Welch.

Publication and use by the Community of Christ

Smith was killed prior to the publication of the JST/IV. At his death, the manuscripts and documents pertaining to the translation were retained by his widow,

Emma Smith Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, 1804 – April 30, 1879) was an American homesteader, the official wife of Joseph Smith, and a prominent leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement, both during Smith's lifetime and afterward as ...

, who would not give them to the Quorum of the Twelve, although

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...

, apparently acting on behalf of

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

, requested the manuscript from her. Consequently, when Young's followers moved to the Salt Lake Valley, they did so without the new translation of the Bible. Following Smith's death, John Milton Bernhisel asked permission of Emma Smith to use the manuscript to copy notes into his own KJV Bible. Bernhisel spent much of the spring of 1845 working on this project. The LDS Church has Bernhisel's Bible in its archives, but it contains less than half of the corrections and is not suitable for publication. For many years the "Bernhisel Bible" was the only JST/IV source for LDS Church members living in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1866, Emma Smith gave the manuscript into the custody of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), of which she was a member, and her son

Joseph Smith III Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...

, its prophet-president. In 1867, the RLDS Church published the first edition of the IV and obtained a copyright for it. The RLDS Church, now known as Community of Christ, still retains the original manuscripts and publishes the ''Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures'' through the

Herald House Herald House or Herald Publishing House is the publishing division of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. It publishes books, periodicals and other materials at the direction of the First Presidency. Its history dates to the publicatio ...

, its publishing arm. The copyright has expired on the 1867 edition and a bound photo reproduction of that edition is published by a private concern. In 1944, the RLDS Church issued a "new corrected edition" that eliminated some of the errors made in the original 1867 edition.

Scholarship on JST/IV manuscripts

Because LDS scholars had not yet had an opportunity to compare the RLDS Church's 1944 IV edition to the original manuscripts, its initial acceptance by LDS Church members was limited. Beginning in the 1960s, explorations of the textual foundations of the JST/IV began in earnest with the pioneering work of the CofC scholar Richard P. Howard and the LDS scholar Robert J. Matthews. Matthews's summary of an exhaustive study corroborated the RLDS claims that the 1944 and subsequent editions of JST/IV constituted a faithful rendering of the work of Smith and his scribes—insofar as the manuscripts were then understood. With painstaking effort over a period of eight years, and with the full cooperation of Community of Christ, a facsimile transcription of the original manuscripts of the JST/IV was published in 2004.

Viewpoints within the LDS Church

The LDS Church describes the creation of the JST/IV as Smith dictating "inspired changes and additions to scribes." However, the LDS church accepts only a portion of the changes found in the JST/IV as canon. Joseph Smith–Matthew and the

, containing translations and revelatory expansions of Matthew 24 and Genesis 1–7, respectively, are contained in the LDS Pearl of Great Price; thus, they are the only portions of the JST/IV that the LDS Church has

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

as part of its

standard works The standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, the largest in the Latter Day Saint movement) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are: * ...

. Additionally, over 600 of the more doctrinally significant verses from the translation are included as excerpts in the current LDS Church edition of the KJV. This step has ensured an increase in the JST/IV's use and acceptance in the LDS Church today. A 1974 editorial of the LDS Church-owned ''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'' stated:

"The Inspired Version does not supplant the King James Version as the official Church version of the Bible, but the explanations and changes made by the Prophet Joseph Smith provide enlightenment and useful commentary on many biblical passages."

Regarding the JST/IV, Bruce R. McConkie (1915–1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "The Joseph Smith Translation, or Inspired Version, is a thousand times over the best Bible now existing on earth". Some Mormon scholars argue that the term "translation" was broader in meaning in 1828 than it is today, and Smith's work was at the time considered a revision of the English text, rather than a translation between languages; one of "ideas rather than language". It is known that Smith had not studied Hebrew or Greek to produce the JST/IV manuscript, although Smith did later study Hebrew from 1836 on. LDS scholar

Royal Skousen Royal Jon Skousen (; born August 5, 1945) is a retired professor of linguistics and English at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of th ...

discusses whether one should assume that every change made in the JST/IV constitutes revealed text.

. "The earliest textual sources for Joseph Smith's "New Translation" of the King James Bible." ''

FARMS Review ''Mormon Studies Review'' is an annual academic journal covering Mormon studies published by the University of Illinois Press. Previously, until and including its 2018 issue, the journal was published by Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell ...

'' 17, no. 2 (2005): 456–70. Besides arguments that can be made from the actual text of the JST/IV, there are questions regarding the reliability and degree of supervision given to the scribes who were involved in transcribing, copying, and preparing the text for publication. Differences are also apparent in the nature of the revision process that took place at different stages of the work. For example, while a significant proportion of the Genesis passages that have been canonized as the

ook Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, th ...

like a word-for-word revealed text," evidence from a study of two sections in the New Testament that were revised twice indicates that the later "New Testament JST is not being revealed word-for-word, but largely depends upon Joseph Smith’s varying responses to the same difficulties in the text."

References

Sources

* Smith, J. (1970). ''Joseph Smith's "New Translation" of the Bible'' Herald Publishing House; (all J.S. changes or additions to King James version shown in parallel columns, but not the complete Bible) * Matthews, R.J. (1985). ''"A Plainer Translation:" Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible – a history and commentary''. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press. * Millet, R.L. & Matthews, R.J. (1995). ''Plain and Precious Truths Restored: The doctrinal and historical significance of the Joseph Smith translation''. Bookcraft. * Faulring, S.H., Jackson, K.P., & Matthews, R.J. ds.(2004). ''Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible: Original manuscripts''. Provo, UT:

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

Religious Studies Center The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of BYU Religious Education, Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on the Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cul ...

. *

External links

Full text of the Community of Christ's Inspired Version of the Bible
from centerplace.org
Full text of the 1867 edition
from archive.org
Full text of the 1867 edition
from archive.org

from centerplace.org * ttps://archive.org/details/threebiblesschol00etzerich The three bibles: scholarship and inspiration compared from archive.org
Joseph Smith Translation explained in LDS Guide to the Scriptures
from churchofjesuschrist.org, the official website of the LDS Church
Images of Old Testament revision manuscript
from Joseph Smith Papers Project website. Originals housed at Community of Christ Library-Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph Smith Translation Of The Bible 1867 books 1867 in Christianity 19th-century Christian texts Bible translations into English Books published posthumously Mormonism and the Bible Mormonism-related controversies Unfinished books Works by Joseph Smith Works in the style of the King James Version