Dead Sea Scroll
A Brief History of Scripture
How we got our inspired writings
Septuagent
Table of Contents
The Nature of Scripture
Definition. Scripture is that which is spoken or written under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and which is recognized by the church body of believers to be sacred, inspired, and authoritative. God gives mankind scripture to teach God’s ways, guide our behavior helping us to become more like Him, and better prepare us to return to Him. The canon of writings currently accepted in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes 66 books of the Holy Bible (39 Old Testament, and 27 New Testament), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Additionally, inspired writings such as Patriarchal Blessings, and individual revelations may be sacred and authoritative to individual believers, but are not considered scripture for the whole Church, or for the world.
Purpose. God gives mankind scriptures to help us better receive God’s plan to bring mankind into immortality and eternal life. Scriptures testify of God’s glory, goodness, and love for us. They testify of the redeeming atonement of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. They reveal God’s plan of salvation. God uses scripture to invite us to repent, and to guide us along the covenant path to return to our Father in Heaven. Following scripture principles helps sanctify our lives. By learning the scripture stories of men and women touched by God, we gain insight into how God is touching our own lives today. Scripture teachings nourish us spiritually, and help us face today’s challenges. Reading scripture leads to individual encounters with the influence and guidance of the Holy Ghost. Scripture reveals true doctrines from God, and allows us to put away the falsehoods of the world.
Scripture Origins. Early prophets from the dawn of mankind are described in the Old Testament. Some of their words and writings are hinted at, but details have been scanty in our times. For example, the faithful descendants of Adam and Eve kept a Book of Remembrance, and relatively few of Enoch’s prophesies are now familiar to us. For a list of such lost scriptures see the Bible Dictionary topic of “Lost Books.” However, some missing ancient scripture has been restored by modern-day revelation. Joseph Smith, Jr. was inspired to reveal the Book of Abraham, and Book of Moses now found in the Pearl of Great Price.
A few sections of the Old Testament were originally written directly by the finger of God who gave them to Moses. Apparently, God also dictated most of the words in the first four books to Moses. And Moses was inspired to give sermons that make up his fifth book, Deuteronomy. Most other scripture was written by mortal men and women called prophets who were inspired to speak or write what became our scriptures. Such prophets often used the phrase, “Thus saith the Lord . . .” when introducing their message. Moses is believed to be the earliest writer of scripture in the Holy Bible. Moses completed his five books in the deserts south or east of Canaan around 1406 BC. Malachai is considered the most recent prophet of the Old Testament and wrote about 430 BC in Jerusalem, Israel.
Authoritative and Continuing. A distinct characteristic of canon scripture is that it is authoritative. True scripture is the Word of God. However, it would be a mistake to overly emphasize the role of scripture. Believers must be careful to understand the limits of scriptures, and be wary of being trapped in overzealous applications. God is the ultimate source of truth and of scripture. It is a mistake to worship His instrument, the scriptures, over the Creator himself. It is misleading to assume the already-accepted scriptures are the only source of truth, when God can reveal more as he pleases.
Discerning True Scripture. Also, because divinely revealed scriptures are transmitted through the hands of fallible men who are prone to error, from time to time mistakes can, and have been introduced. But the weaknesses of men are no reason to condemn the things of God. Therefore, it is best to use the law of multiple witnesses to help discern true scripture. One witness, and a good measure of truth is that it strengthens faith in Jesus Christ. Some of the other types of witnesses to use as additional touchstones for scriptural truth are the godly patterns found in the practices and testimonies of faithful believers. Another witness is the fruit of spiritual-gifts of those living the gospel’s principles. And especially important is the confirming personal witness of the Holy Ghost as an answer to your own prayers about the truths revealed in scripture.
Overcoming the Mistakes of Men. God foresaw the imperfections humans would introduce into divine revelations, and helps us overcome them anyway. Our human methods of communication are sometimes subject to error. God provides perfect communication to His prophets. But once humans get involved, mistakes can be made. Sometimes the human recipient of God’s message misunderstands. Even if the understanding is clear, the recording, copying and transmission, language translations, reception by second parties, their understanding, and conclusions they draw may not be perfect. A prophet inspired to compose scripture can make spelling or grammar mistakes, or have a perspective or memory of an event that differs slightly from another eye witness. The scribe who helps write the account can mishear what the prophet said, or simply write it incorrectly. As a revelation is hand-copied from one manuscript to another manuscript, over dozens of copies and dozens of years, errors are bound to creep in. Some language translations are better at conveying God’s intended meaning than others. Some oral readings are heard more clearly or more exactly than others. How church leaders from different cultures can understand a scripture’s meaning may vary. Over the centuries, well-meaning scribes may introduce what they believe are clarifications. Less-scrupulous persons may have selfish motives to delete or insert words, sentences, sections, or even whole books. There are over 900,000 text variations in the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The people that approved a canon of scripture in one religious group many not have been aware of (or agreed with) the choice of approved scriptures in a more remote religious group. Doctrinal disputes influenced canon selection choices. Certainly, Jewish and Christian authorities had doubts about each other’s choice of canonical books. And each individual believer’s ability to understand and apply scripture lessons changes according to their life-experiences. God recognizes these kinds of variations are a natural result of human nature. So, God uses multiple revelations at multiple times, and in multiple places to repeat the divine message in such a way that corroborates the truth of what God is trying to teach us. That is why it is important to thoughtfully keep an open mind about continuing revelation as a part of God’s plan for us. He knows we need the ongoing help.
Guidance from inspired religious leaders also can help, but the best way to learn the authoritativeness of a particular scripture is directly from God by the witness of the Holy Ghost to the individual believer.
Scripture's Original Format. The original format of Bible scripture was different from our modern chapter and verse numbered format compiled in a codex (book of pages with a sewn spine) format. The ten commandments were carved stone, but ink on animal skins, or papyrus, seems to have been the most common way to record the original copy of a scripture. Also, the older format was mostly on scrolls. For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the oldest surviving copies of scripture, written roughly between the 3rd and 1st Century Before Christ, but even those are copies rather than the originals.
Each book of the Bible was created separately long before they were ever compiled into a single “Bible.” Our modern chapters were also a later innovation. Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury, in about 1227 AD, first introduced the idea of chapters later used in the Wycliffe English Bible published in 1382. Old Testament verse numbers were eventually added by the French Jewish Rabbi Isaac Nathan ben Kalonymus in 1448. A printer, Robert Estienne (aka Stephanus in Latin) from Paris and Geneva, added verse numbers to the New Testament in 1555 for the English language Geneva Bible. Most Bibles since then have used a modified version of the chapter and verse numbering system originally invented by these three men.
How Sacred Writings Become Canon
Accepted Books of Scripture. Lee Martin McDonald teaches the word “canon” came to refer to accepted books of the Christian Bible in 4th Century AD. Before that time, “canon” meant a reed, or measuring rod. Scholars believe the concept of authoritative and divinely inspired writings began to develop when early prophets of Israel referred to a commonly accepted belief in the history of the exodus out of Egypt by the children of Israel and their entering into the Promised Land. Then later that story was expanded to include the giving of God’s law on Mount Sinai. Prophets like Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah referred to these stories to persuade Israel that God cared for them, and that they should stop worshipping false gods.
Denominational Choices. By the time of Jesus Christ the concept of sacred writings was well regarded among the children of Israel. However, agreement on which which writings were from God was not yet a settled. Factions like the Sadducees, Pharasees, Essenes, Gnostics, and Christians each developed differing notions about which writings to believe. Candidate books of proported scripture proliferated with conflicting, incompatable doctrines. So, each group of believers worked out their own path to decide which books of scripture they would accept as the sacred, inspired, and authoritative Word of God.
Timing. Most Jews accepted the five books of Moses (the Law) by around 400 BC, the books of the prophets by about 200 BC, and the “writings” by about 200 A.D. However, the standardized Hebrew language text of these books in modern Rabbinical Judaism was not finalized until the 10th Century A.D. The Christians in the Roman Empire seem to be discussing which books they considered sacred writings for centuries before mostly agreeing to a canon around the 4th Century.
Centuries of Decisions. In most groups it took centuries of back-and-forth debate to settle on a canon of scripture. And each group has chosen a different canon. The definitive declarations of settled canon tended to come relatively late for most groups. For example, the Jews settled on their canon in the 10th Century A.D. Among the Christians, around 1522 A.D. the reformer, Martin Luther, still expressed doubts about books like the seven books of the Apocrypha, as well as James, Jude, and Revelation. In response, in 1546 the Roman Catholic Council of Trent formally reiterated their 73-book canon (46 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books). Modern Protestants have 39 books in their Old Testament. The Roman Catholics and Orthodox still have 46 books in the Old Testament. However, the Armenians today have 48 books in their Old Testament. The Ethiopians have 11 books more beyond that.
Modern Revelation. Joseph Smith introduced the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and writings that have become scripture as the Pearl of Great Price. Also, the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) revised selected verses of the Bible, and revisions of Genesis 1-6 (Moses), and Matthew 24 were canonized as part of the Pearl of Great Price. Further, the JST identified the Song of Solomon as “not sacred writings.”
Sacred canon scripture considered authoritative and valued as the word of God is different in each believer group. Each group has a different history of how books came to be accepted as canon scripture.
Brief History of the Old Testament
Growing Reliance on Sacred Writings
There was a long period when stories about the Exodus from Egypt and laws given on Mount Sinai were lightly regarded in Israel. But in 621 BC a “Book of the Law” (probably Deuteronomy) was discovered by Hilkiah, the High Priest at the Temple and presented to King Josiah (Southern Kingdom). Josiah instituted a nationwide religious reformation that generated a much greater interest in the idea of sacred writings. But events like the capture of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC, the defeat of the Southern Kingdom in 597 BC, the 586 BC capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple, and being carried off into Babylonian exile, left the Hebrews with very little but their traditions and writings to sustain them during that exile. The return from exile came in waves. The prophet Ezra was in the third wave of the return from exile, and in about 457 BC he began exhorting the people to obey the Torah (the five books of Moses). This grew into a period of greater reverence for the teachings of sacred writings among the Jews.
During the early Second Temple period (516 BC to 70 AD) Aramaic was the official language of government administration in the Eastern Mediterranean area and became the dominant language among the people. Then around 332 BC Alexander conquered Judea and Egypt and Kione Greek also became culturally influential. Relatively few Jews could speak, and even fewer could read Hebrew. Because of the influence of Greco-Roman culture, many more Jews spoke Kione Greek than spoke Hebrew during the early Roman period.
Influences During the Exile
While in Babylon the Jewish exiles learned and began speaking Aramaic, and brought that language back with them from exile. In fact, during the early Second Temple period (516 BC to 70 AD) Aramaic was spoken from Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean to Babylon on the Persian Gulf. It was the official language of government administration, even in Israel. The most widely spoken language of the Israeli common man was Aramaic. Relatively few Jews continued to speak, and even fewer could read Hebrew.
Targums were Aramaic translations or paraphrases of the Old Testament books, created to meet the needs of unlearned Jews who no longer understood Hebrew. Targums originated from the synagogue worship service custom of reading Scripture sections, where a translator would orally render each verse into Aramaic immediately after the Hebrew reading. They functioned as paraphrases, or lesson-commentaries rather than literal translations. Starting as early as the 2nd Century BC these targums exemplify a Jewish attitude of reverence for God’s sacred scriptures. Targums were initially prohibited from being written down, but by 110 AD some were written for private study, and editing work on them continued until the 5th Century AD when their final text was fixed (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica).
Greco-Roman Influences
Around 332 BC Alexander conquered Judea and Egypt and Koine Greek also became a culturally influential language. Because of the influence of Greco-Roman culture, in addition to Aramaic, many Jews also spoke Koine Greek. More Jews spoke this Greek dialect than spoke Hebrew during the early Roman period.
About 132 BC a Greek Pharaoh of Egypt requested the “Law and the Prophets” of Hebrew scripture be translated from Hebrew into Greek so he could have a copy in his famous library. The story goes that seventy-two Hebrew scholars were brought to Alexandria, Egypt to translate these Jewish writings. The resulting Koi ne Greek Septuagint (LXX) satisfied a real need in the Greek-language-speaking Jewish community, and soon became the most widely available and most understandable version of scripture for many Jews. By about 30 AD Jesus of Nazareth was teaching and quoting from many of the books of what later became the Hebrew Bible canon, and a few extras (like the 1st Book of Enoch) as well. However, 90 percent of New Testament citations originating from the Old Testament seem to have been from the Greek Septuagint version rather than the now-more-accepted Masoretic Hebrew Bible.
The Dead Sea Scrolls (about 250 BC to 68 AD) of the Jewish sect at the Qumran community included texts from at least 20 additional candidates to be considered as sacred books not found in the modern Hebrew Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls are also evidence that there were in circulation a wide variety of manuscript versions for each now-accepted book of the scriptures. But the Book of Esther is not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, implying the Qumran people may not have thought of Esther as sacred.
Gradual Acceptance
However, there was no known official list of books that were “in” (canonical) or “out” (non-canonical) as Hebrew scriptures as far as Jewish sages were concerned until the late 2nd Century AD. Some scholars believe that by custom and common usage the Hebrew canon was settled as early as the Hasmonean dynasty (140–40 BC). For many years modern scholars generally pointed to the Council of Jamnia (or Yavne in Hebrew, about 70–90 AD) as the time and place the Hebrew Bible canon was solidified in response to Christianity’s use of Hebrew texts. That view is now considered discredited. There is no current consensus on exactly when the full canon of the Hebrew Tanakh was established. It seems to have been a gradual process one section at a time without specific events to mark the timing:
• Torah (Law) was canonized around 400 BC, with some traditions attributing that work to Ezra and Nehemiah.
• Nevi'im (the major and minor Prophets) were canonized around 200 BC.
• Ketuvim (Writings): Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles were mostly canonized by around 100 AD.
The First List of Accepted Old Testament Books
Melito of Sardis (a city now in western Turkey), was a Christian bishop who provided the earliest known list of the Old Testament canon around 170 AD. He compiled the list after traveling to Palestine to verify the books with Jewish authorities. However, one of the largest Jewish synagogues was in Melito’s own city of Sardis, so traveling to Palestine implies the Jewish canon was not yet firmly resolved. Melito’s list included all the books of the Hebrew Bible except Esther.
The Masoretic Text
Most Jewish leaders now prefer a version of the Old Testament in standardized Hebrew language called the Masoretic Text (MT). The Masoretic Text, or Hebrew Bible, was primarily copied, edited, finalized, and distributed by Jewish scribes known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. The Masorete scribes were active in three schools in Tiberias and Jerusalem (Palestine), and in Lower Mesopotamia (i.e. Babylonia). The acceptance of the Masoretic Text is what finally codified the books of the Tanakh—the modern authoritative Hebrew Bible of Rabbinical Judaism. The Masoretic Text scriptures are also the version used as the basis for most English language Old Testament translations like the King James Version.
Brief History of the New Testament
Coming soon . . .
History of Modern Chapters and Verse Numbers
Bible. The original authors of the Bible did not write using chapter or verse numbers. The idea for our modern scripture chapter system for the Bible was created by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury, in about 1227 AD, and first used in the Wycliffe English Bible published in 1382. Old Testament verse numbers were eventually added by the French Jewish Rabbi Isaac Nathan ben Kalonymus in 1448. A printer, Robert Estienne (aka Stephanus in Latin) from Paris and Geneva, added verse numbers to the New Testament in 1555 for the Geneva Bible. Most Bibles since then have used a modified version the chapter and verse numbering system originally invented by these three men.
Book of Mormon. "The first edition of the Book of Mormon had consisted of large, unnumbered chapters, which made citing a particular passage difficult. In subsequent editions, some of these large paragraphs were divided and verse numbers were assigned to the paragraphs, but the paragraphs were still generally long. In 1879, Elder Orson Pratt divided the Book of Mormon into small chapters and verses for easier reference. His numbering system became the standard for all later Latter-day Saint editions." (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "The History of the Scriptures" (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/about-the-scriptures/history?lang=eng#title19 ; 11 December 2024), 1879 Book of Mormon, Orson Pratt Revision).
History of the
Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures
and
Joseph Smith Translation
In June 1830 God commissioned the Prophet Joseph Smith to make an inspired "translation" (revision) of the King James Version Bible (KJV). As the Prophet reviewed the Bible for this translation, God used Joseph Smith's work on the project as an occasion to share several important revelations now in Doctrine and Covenants 76, 77, and 91. Most of the work on the translation's unpublished manuscript was completed by July 1833, but the Prophet continued to make modifications until his death in 1844. His repeated new modifications suggest that Joseph Smith continued to be inspired and learn more as he experienced more of life, and better realized the needs of the Saints around him. Joseph Smith’s notes show about 1,289 verse revisions in the Old Testament, and approximately 2,096 revisions in the New Testament—about 3,385 total Bible verse revisions by those counts.
After Joseph Smith’s death, eventually in 1867 a group of Joseph Smith’s followers published his work as the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures. In 1979 another group of followers published selected extracts of the revisions as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST). Both publications are based on the manuscript handwritten notes made during Joseph Smith’s inspired revision of the King James Version Bible.
The Revision Process
[a partial extract from “Joseph Smith Translation” in Wikipedia, 7 May 2026] As with Smith's other translations, he reported that he would "study it out in his mind" [Doctrine and Covenants section 9: verse 8] as part of the revelatory process. [Kathleen Flake. "Translating Time: The Nature and Function of Joseph Smith's Narrative Canon" Journal of Religion 87, no. 4 (October 2007): 497–527.] During the process, Joseph Smith occasionally revisited a given passage of scripture at a later time to give it a "plainer translation." [as described in Doctrine and Covenants 128:18]
Philip Barlow [Philip Barlow, Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1991.] 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
• "Common-sense" changes (for example, 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 Inspired Version / Joseph Smith Translation
The Inspired Version was a work in progress throughout Joseph Smith's ministry, the bulk between June 1830 and July 1833. Some parts of the revision (Genesis and the four Gospels) were completed from beginning to end, including unchanged verses from the King James Version; 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. As he completed sections or verses, Joseph Smith marked them off to show what he had examined.
Song of Solomon and Apocrypha Excluded
Joseph Smith excluded the Song of Solomon from his revisions, labeling it as "not inspired writings." Also, he used an edition of the KJV Bible that included the seven books of the deuterocanonical Apocrypha, but the Apocrypha was not included in the Joseph Smith Translation. When he asked God whether he should translate (revise) the Apocrypha, God responded with the revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants section 91, which stated that while many things in the Apocrypha were true, others were "interpolations by the hands of men" and that "it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated."
Change Statistics
The following statistical tables are based on information from the scripturetoolbox.com comparing the King James Version Bible and the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures. Note: verse numbering in the King James Version Bible varies slightly in some editions.
King Inspired
Old Testament James Version
O.T. Books 39 38
O.T. Chapters 929 921
O.T. Verses 23,145 23,229
O.T. Words 609,252 618,181
King Inspired
New Testament James Version
N.T. Books 27 27
N.T. Chapters 260 260
N.T. Verses 7,957 8,032
N.T. Words 180,381 188,162
Holy Bible King Inspired
James Version
Total Books 66 65
Total Chapters 1,189 1,181
Total Verses 31,102 31,261
Total Words 789,633 806,343
According to Robert J. Matthews, Kent P. Jackson, and Scott Faulring [Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible introduction], Joseph Smith “made changes to approximately 3,600 biblical verses, in addition to adding approximately 10,000 words of new text that has no biblical counterpart.” The original manuscripts have significant portions of Genesis and the four Gospels re-written in full, while other books contain only specific revisions identified by chapter and verse citations.
Roughly 66 percent of the Old Testament changes were made in the book of Genesis. For example, one insertion in Genesis chapter 50 added twelve new verses. In the New Testament around 78% of the changes were made in the four Gospels.
The revisions include additions, deletions, and corrections, with the majority being additions rather than simple textual substitutions.
Joseph Smith was inspired to revise three large sets of scripture verses that impacted revisions in four parts of the Bible. Two sets involved nearly-whole chapters of revisions that were later added to our canon of scripture that, in effect, replaced three parts of the Bible. And from the other large set we learned a whole book of the Bible was never worthy of being canonized by the early Church. To wit:
1) Genesis 1:1—6:13 (356 revised verses) became the Book of Moses replacing the corresponding 151 KJV Genesis verses.
2) Song of Solomon 1:1—8:14 (117 verses) the whole book was identified as “not inspired writings.”
3) Matthew 23:29—24:51 (55 revised verses) became Joseph Smith—Matthew replacing both KJV Matthew chapter 24 (originally 52 verses), and KJV Mark chapter 13 (originally 31 verses).
By my count, the 1979 Joseph Smith Translation selected about 843 of the doctrinally most significant of Joseph Smith’s approximately 3,600 verse revisions of the King James Version Bible. Many of the less significant were likely minor spelling, grammar, or punctuation corrections.
There are about 203 other revised verses in the Old Testament beyond the 356 verses canonized and published in the Book of Moses. Also note that Joseph Smith described the 117 verses (8 chapters) of the Song of Solomon as “not inspired writings.” Together these make 420 verse revisions in the Old Testament Joseph Smith Translation outside of Moses.
The New Testament of the Joseph Smith Translation also has two large sets of revised verses for Matthew 24th chapter, and the parallel Mark 13th chapter canonized as Joseph Smith—Matthew. Outside those twin revisions of whole chapters, the Joseph Smith Translation shows an additional 640 selected revised verses among the other chapters and books of the New Testament.
The following list is my unofficial count of the number Joseph Smith’s revised verses deemed doctrinally significant enough to be included in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 1979 edition of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Holy Bible:
JST Book Verses
Genesis 91
+Moses 356
Exodus 31
Numbers 1
Leviticus 0
Deuteronomy 1
Joshua 0
Judges 0
Ruth 0
1 Samuel 6
2 Samuel 1
1 Kings 8
2 Kings 0
1 Chronicles 1
2 Chronicles 3
Ezra 0
Nehemiah 2
Esther 0
Job 2
Psalms 25
Proverbs 0
Ecclesiastes 0
Song of Solomon
not inspired (-117)
Isaiah 14
Jeremiah 6
Lamentations 0
Ezekiel 2
Daniel 0
Hosea 1
Joel 2
Amos 4
Obediah 0
Jonah 2
Micah 0
Nahum 0
Habakkuk 0
Zephaniah 0
Haggai 0
Zechariah 0
Malachi 0
Old Testament 203
+Moses 356
-Song. (-117)
JST Book Verses
Matthew 139
+JS-Matthew 55
Mark 70
+JS-Matthew 55
Luke 107
John 76
Acts 13
Romans 52
1 Corinthians 25
2 Corinthians 6
Galatians 5
Ephesians 1
Philippians 3
Colossians 4
1 Thessalonians 3
2 Thessalonians 6
1 Timothy 6
2 Timothy 6
Titus 1
Philemon 0
Hebrews 33
James 13
1 Peter 7
2 Peter 14
1 John 10
2 John 0
3 John 0
Jude 2
Revelation 43
New Testament 640
+2xJS-Matthew 110
JST Total Revisions 843
+Moses+2xJS-Matt. 466
-Song. (-117)
By counting the canonized Moses verses for parallel verses in Genesis, and by counting the canonized Joseph Smith—Matthew verses for the corresponding verses in both Matthew and Mark, and by counting the omitted Song of Solomon verses, the approximate number of verse revisions included in the 1979 Joseph Smith Translation comes to about 1,426 verses. That compares to about 3,600 verse revisions by Joseph Smith in his King James Bible and manuscripts, and a total of 31,102 un‑revised verses in the (modern Latter-day Saint / Protestant) King James Version Bible.
Unfinished Preparations for Publishing
By 1833, Joseph Smith said the work 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. [Robert J. Matthews, "A Plainer Translation": Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible—A History and Commentary. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975, p. 391.] Regarding the completeness of the JST as we have it, Robert Matthews has written:
The manuscript shows that Joseph 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 Joseph Smith. [Matthews, p. 215.]
Provenance of the Original Bible and Manuscripts
After Joseph Smith Jr’s death, his widow, Emma, retained the original Bible and manuscripts in which Joseph had written his revisions, although she allowed others like John M. Bernhisel to see and copy from them. In 1866 Emma Smith gave custody of that Bible and its manuscripts to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS, now Community of Christ). In 1867 that church published it as The Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures. Also, a new corrected edition was published by them in 1944. Initially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints viewed the Inspired Version with suspicion. For many years the acceptance of the Inspired Version was limited among the Latter-day Saints partially because they were unable to compare the original manuscripts to the published editions. However, once scholars corroborated that the published editions were faithful to the manuscripts in the 1960s and 1970s suspicions were eased.
Starting in 1979, The Church of Jeus Christ of Latter-day Saint published its own edition of the King James Version Bible which includes Joseph Smith Translation footnotes to about 843 of the more doctrinally significant verses selected from the approximately 3,600 verses revised by Joseph Smith. This step has ensured an increase in use of the Joseph Smith Translation (and Inspired Version), and its acceptance among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today.
In 2024, the Community of Christ transferred ownership of the original manuscripts and Bible used in the Joseph Smith Translation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Some Available Publications of the Joseph Smith Translation / Inspired Version
Readers and my listeners can access the 843 or so most doctrinally significant revised verses of the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) in codex book format either (a) in a printed Bible by using the footnotes on the appropriate Bible page, and (b) for longer passages, in the 16½-page Appendix near the back of the Bible (pp. 797-813). The same material is also available online:
(a) for the Old Testament at churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot
(b) for the New Testament at churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt
(c) for the Appendix at churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/jst
More complete online editions with all 3,600 inspired verse revisions are available online at
• rsc.byu.edu/book/joseph-smiths-translation-bible (two column side-by-side JST/KJV comparison), or
• scripturetoolbox.com/html/ic/index.html (inline comparison with text unique to the Inspired Version highlighted in green, and text deleted from the King James Version highlighted in red with a strike-through).
Uncanonized Revisions
Joseph Smith was inspired to modify about 3,600 verses (inspired revision count) sprinkled in many places in the King James (KJV) Bible. He revised large portions of chapters like the first nine chapters in Genesis (mostly reflected in the Book of Moses), and the 24th chapter of Matthew (Joseph Smith—Matthew) both of which were canonized as parts of the Pearl of Great Price (466 canon verses). However, the remainder of Joseph Smith's translation never formally has been canonized, and technically about 960 revised verses in the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) are not considered part of the official Bible canon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scriptures.
Brief History of the Book of Mormon
Coming soon . . .
History of the Pearl of Great Price
Coming soon . . .