The Amplified Bible

The Amplified Bible, seems to hold a special concern in my heart. The main reason is that I believe so very many people use this Bible, because they earnestly may wish to know more of His Word. They are led astray by a Bible which claims to "Amplify" God's Words, His Voice. It concerns me because I care so much, and don't want anyone to be led astray, especially if they are seeking answers from God's Word!

The thing against the Amplified Bible, first off is that it raises the question, Who can rightly claim that God's Very Word needs to be Amplified, even more, by men! Yes, I know, the creators of the Amplified Bible weren't necessarily meaning it that way. But it appears it, and we should never leave room for false beliefs to arise from our words. We don't want a lost soul to happen along what we might have said one day, and be led astray.

I remember talking to a dear sister one time, long ago. She made the comment to me, "The Amplified Bible only ADDS words. And they only do that to help you understand God's Words." Well, First off we cannot add words to the Bible. Not even for supposed "good reasons." We are warned not to add to His Words in Proverbs 30:5-6 which says, "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." as well as in Deuteronomy 4:2, and Revelation 22:18-19. Second off, sadly, the Amplified Bible adds, takes away, and changes words just the very same as all the other modern versions of the Word of God. No different. I could feel our sister's sorrow when her trust that the Amplified didn't take any words out of the Bible, was shown to be wrong. She read 1 Corinthians 6:9.

King James Bible: 1 Corinthians 6:9"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,"
The Amplified Bible: 1 Corinthians 6:9"Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,"

We see in the above verse in particular that the Amplified Bible took out the words "And Effeminate." Those are important words, because without them, if one only reads this one verse, they can say that it is okay to be homosexual but not act on those feelings (because it says "abusers of themselves with mankind" and in the AMP "those who participate in homosexuality"). However, with the words "And Effeminate," it shows that the homosexual tendencies and "lifestyle" are sinful whether you engage in sexual participation or not. And Effeminate, shows that those who are homosexual in their life, but are supposed "virgins," are still participating in sin because they engage in those same-gender feelings (Read also Matthew 5:27-28). Effeminate shows a person, namely a man, who is . . . feminine and soft. Kings of old, are often called effeminate. Therefore we also see though, that even if one is not "homosexual," but yet effeminate nonetheless, it must be cast off as well. God did not create man, to be woman. Nor did He create woman to be man (This is why cross-dressing is not to be done also).

With that one verse, I attempted to help our sister, earnestly searching and comparing verses in the Amplified Bible as I did with the other versions. I was honestly hoping, for her sake and others who read the Amplified in an attempt to truly learn, that the Amplified might not be like the other versions. Sadly, I found out that the Amplified Bible, makes nearly always, the same changes, omissions, and additions as do other modern versions.

I also noticed a continued reference to the LXX, or the Septuagint. This is a very corrupt, even falsely made manuscript. Click here to learn more about: The Septuagint

Because of the simple fact that the Amplified Bible makes nearly the exact same changes as many other versions, I will not put a long list of verse comparisons here (unless you wish; let me know). Instead, I will simply include them on another page I'll make in the future, One Big Comparison Table.

Though, here is another verse, wherein the Amplified Bible doesn't just take words away from the Word of God, but it also makes God's Word contradicting!

King James Bible: 2 Samuel 21:19"And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam."
The Amplified Bible: 2 Samuel 21:19"There was again war at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam."

Isn't it well-known that David slew Goliath with only a sling and a stone? Then David even made sure of it by beheading the giant all in 1 Samuel chapter 17! Surely there was no war afterward, in which Goliath was back from the grave, and another person had to kill him again!

But the Amplified doesn't just stop there, it contradicts itself in 1 Chronicles 20:5, when it recounts 2 Samuel 21:19.

King James Bible: 1 Chronicles 20:5"And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam."
The Amplified Bible: 1 Chronicles 20:5"There was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam."

The Amplified Bible can't have it both ways. The poor soul reading the Amplified is first told that David killed Goliath and rejoices with David and God for the Miracle. Then that person is confused when he or she reads that Elhanan actually killed Goliath . . . and then is even more confused as he or she later reads that Elhanan actually killed Lahmi, not Goliath, but Goliath's brother! The Amplified here alone has three contradicting facts. This causes God's Word to be doubted. This also causes confusion, and God is not the author of confusion!