Which edition of the KJV is correct? I checked most Cambridge edition KJV I could get my hands on, and every one has the word recommendations of Matthew Verschuur EXCEPT these following two verses.
A Standard Pure Cambridge Edition KJV:
Spirit capitalized.
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.Acts 11:28 KJVAnd there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.1 John 5:8 KJV
Pure Cambridge Edition 1900 (Bible Protector/Matthew Verschuur) KJV:
Spirit now lowercase.
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.Acts 11:28 KJVAnd there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.1 John 5:8 KJV
Reasoning given for the change:
http://bibleprotector.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=90&sid=d475d5aba668e1060a2b01991c0515de
"1 John 5:6 is talking about two earthly elements, water and blood. The “Spirit” is clearly the Holy Ghost. Thus, the Holy Ghost’s witness in verse 6 about Christ, His record in Heaven in verse 7, must be understood to also link to His outworking in the heart of man (called “spirit”) in verses 8 and 9."
I have to disagree with the above reasoning.
Verse 7 is about the Persons of the Trinity acting as people. Verse 8 are all things, and does not exclude the Spirit capitalized as verse 6 is calls the Holy Spirit an "IT", a THING.
As an additional fact, Holy Ghost is never referred to as an it, only the Spirit. Holy Ghost is referred as "he".
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And IT is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1 John 5:6 KJV
Verse 9 states it is the witness of God being greater.
Acts 11, I'm not so sure of. But the PCE 1900 defender is very Pentecostal, so it must be cautioned that they may be rationalizing the text to fit their beliefs.
One possible Acts 11:28 Spirit is capitalized is that all mentions of "by" with "Spirit" in the New Testament are all capitalized, except for the following verse:
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.2 Thessalonians 2:2 KJV
This spirit seems to be a false spirit, as it troubled.
Acts 11:28 did come to pass, it says there on the verse:
"which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar."
So it was a true prophecy, unlike the troublemaking II Thess. 2 spirit.
The deity of certain words is always a main point of contention in many translation debates.
I'm not say Mr. Verschuur made his own revision, but rather, that this edition is one that fits his beliefs, and thus needs to be contested.
Edit:
I have since changed my beliefs regarding this, and I am more in favor with the lower "s" case for spirit. May or may do an updated blog post. However, some of the reasoning still stands, especially with the Pentecostal belief part.
Edit 2:
My case for the lowercase spirit relies more on the fact that the witness of men verse means these are all parts of man, water (flesh), blood (soul), and spirit. Another is understanding that lowercase spirit refers to the Son when compared to the Father and Holy Ghost. Jesus's spirit being on earth fits the verse.
https://www.purecambridgetext.com/post/2017/09/07/the-seven-spirits-of-carnal-man
" I John 5:8 is not dealing with the Holy Spirit or an inward working of God as verse 6 is in the same passage. It is not dealing with the Holy Ghost, the third person of the trinity as verse 7 is. It is discussing the personal spirit of Jesus Christ that was yielded up from an earthen vessel of flesh at the same time that that flesh yielded water and blood. When the centurion saw those things he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God", Mark 15:39. The Apostle John had just given a trinity of proofs that Jesus is the Son of God. It is proven in the inward parts of believers, Verse 6, it is proven in heavenly witness, verse 7, and it is proven by the earthly witnesses. Scrivener emasculated the whole passage.
Every time the personal spirit of Jesus Christ is referred to in the gospels it is a small "s" spirit, Mark 2:8, Mark 8:12, Luke 2:40, Luke 10:21, Luke 23:46, John 11:33, John 13:21. That is the spirit of I John 5:8 until Scrivener's lead is followed. The next proof text for the modern day correctors is the Oxford Text. Oxford is wrong in every other place it differs from the Cambridge. Look at Joshua 19:2, Nahum 3:16 or Mark 1:12. Why don't they follow Oxford's lead there?"
However, I must admit, verse 6 having "Spirit" does shake often when one reads the passage again with fresh eyes with the change in mind.
