On December 2, 2002, Enron declared bankruptcy, plunging thousands of employees and investors into financial ruin. Enron was founded as a Houston pipeline company, but morphed into a brokerage that traded energy commodities. To hide an unhealthy debt ratio, the company created a complex scheme of inflating their net worth in relation to their debt. In so doing, they became this country’s most glaring example of corporate crime and the falsification of corporate data. Perhaps most chilling, executives reaped millions in profits from Enron stocks while prohibiting employees from cashing in on their stocks while this investment still had value.

As the book of Revelation given to John closes, a solemn warning is given about changing this sacred document in any way. The warning specifically says, “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of…this Book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues…written in this Book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book…God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Revelation 22:18-19). We realize believers today have absolute eternal security. This warning applied specifically to the book of Revelation, and the consequences solely to those of the Acts, or Tribulation era. Nonetheless, the gravity of changing God’s Word is abundantly clear. Moreover, it is extremely noteworthy that God repeated this warning to Israel to not change His Word. In Deuteronomy 4:1-2, nearly the exact words were used to admonish Israel to obey God’s statutes and never “add unto the Word… [or] diminish ought from it.”

On the basis of these repeated warnings, Christians should consider every word in Scripture as highly sacred. It is a gravely serious matter to tamper with any of God’s inspired Word. Therefore, it should be disturbing to us when modern translations change thousands of words and disparagingly suggest in their notes that Mark 16:9-20 should not be included in our Bible. It should be unacceptable to us when inaccurate translations falsify the document of Scripture. This writer believes the best and closest to a word for word translation of Scripture is the Old King James Version, based on the Majority Text. It is reportedly written on a fifth grade vocabulary level. Particularly with a dictionary or concordance in hand, nearly anyone can still easily understand it. May we all choose to revere God’s Word as highly as He does and not embrace changing words in Scripture.