© 15 Colin Melbourne
Introduction to the KJV PCE
It’s a self-evident fact to discerning Christians that the King James Version (AV, KJV, KJB) is by far the best translation of the word of God in the English language.
When studied in the spirit, and applied in your walk with Christ, you receive this revelation direct from The Author Himself, in accordance with John 7:16-17 KJV;
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
This truth applies to the personal validation that Jesus is the Christ: The Living Word of God in The Flesh. It also works to confirm the written word of God in your mother-tongue. Receiving this revelation ends all discussion and debate about the PCE KJV because you simply know it is God’s written word in English.
The Standard Text KJV
The text of the 1611 KJV has remained the same, with rationalised punctuation, and standardised English spelling of editions through the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.
The 1769 standardisation of the KJV was performed by Cambridge and Oxford University scholars Drs. Paris and Blayney. It is known as the “1769 Standard Text”.
Final perfecting of The Standard Text KJV
At the turn of the nineteenth century Dr. Redpath finalised this process at Cambridge by picking up a few minor spelling errors that Dr. Blayney had overlooked.
This final Standard Text of the English Holy Bible is what has become the Pure Cambridge Edition Standard Text, or PCE.
The English Bible that Heaven & Earth have Endorsed
It is the exact written word of God in the English language, and has been embraced as such by the Body of Christ for over a century.
This precise text; was accepted by English speaking Christians worldwide, printed in vast quantities by Cambridge University Press (CUP), William Collins, the Royal Printers, Eyre & Spottiswoode in London, and disseminated by numerous Foreign Mission & Bible Societies.
Moreover, Almighty God has continually ratified and endorsed this KJV text by confirming His word through signs wonders and miracles, and bringing historic biblical revival.
Multiplied millions of copies of the PCE KJV were printed between 1900 and 1960, of which many still exist.
Flies in the Ointment
Cambridge University Press then “dropped the baton”, by changing the accepted and established PCE text for their “Concord” format in the 1950s.
William Collins, a stalwart publisher of the PCE, introduced similar errors, and by the 1960s few Bible publishers were producing the Holy Bible with the correct pure text in English.
America, nursery of the cults, has been particularly blighted by KJV corruptions.
Further edits to the KJV text of Cambridge Bibles are being promulgated today by New Zealand liberal theologian, David Norton, collaborating with CUP.
It’s a grievous situation.
Jewels in the Scrap Heaps
Neither Cambridge University Press, Allens of Glasgow, nor Collins (now Harper-Collins), or Trinitarian Bible Society in London have printed a PCE for decades, only beautiful leather-bound corrupted KJV editions.
So bereft have Bible bookshops become of the true word of God in English, that one now has to scour second-hand shops for old, pre-1960 copies of KJV editions, checking diligently to discern the true PCE.
On a recent trip to England, I revelled in buying all the PCE Bibles I could find in my local charity shops. (Tip: They don’t put them on the shelves amidst the novels, you have to ask their storeroom staff for “any old KJV Bibles?”)
Try it, it’s like finding treasure on the scrap-heap. And a lovely opportunity to witness to the often elderly volunteer staff by reading aloud Psalm 23 in the Holy Ghost.
However, a snag with old copies is the low quality paper, due to wartime austerity, and the texts are typeset with dated serif fonts. So you often find patchy printing, mottled inking, and readability is impaired. But these are minor drawbacks, offset by the joy and confidence we have in knowing the text is Pure Cambridge Edition, the perfect word of God in English.
I was hopeful in 2011 when Cambridge University Press (CUP) celebrated the KJV’s 400 year anniversary. They re-set several classic formats in a new digital font, but alas chose the corrupted texts, instead of the traditional Pure Cambridge Edition.
It was a wonderful opportunity missed through apathy and carelessness.
The CUP are still destitute of the PCE, which bears their name and which they championed for over half a century.
Download the PCE KJV Free
You may download the text of the PCE KJV here: PCE KJV Bible
Alongside old rescued PCE Bibles, I use the Cambridge Standard Text (ISBN: 9780521507812), and the portable Cambridge Transetto (9780521248990); which are “almost PCE”, but nevertheless their texts are flawed.
For example 1 John 5:8 and Acts 11:28 in the gorgeous, digitally printed, Transetto has an upper case S for spirit instead of the correct lowercase s. (If you think it should be upper case, prayerfully look into the matter, and you will develop new respect for the PCE accuracy in every particular, and rejuvenated confidence in the PCE KJV as the perfect written word of God in English.)
Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read
For years I’ve longed for a digitally printed PCE on good quality bible paper, but to date, they are nowhere to be found.
In 2014 Holman Bible Publishers published a Pew Bible which they informed me was a PCE KJV
Read our review to discover if they were correct: Is the 2014 Holman Pew-Drill KJV Bible really a PCE?
© 15 Colin Melbourne
Tract image © Chick Publns. Used by permission.
<< Read The Attack Chick tract: See the behind-the-scenes struggle to destroy the King James Bible, and how God preserved it.
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Warning: CUP’s Queer Cambridge
Review: Cambridge Transetto Flipback Bible
Download The PCE KJV Holy Bible
PCE KJV or Pure Cambridge Edition
Download the Genuine PCE KJV Holy Bible
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What’s wrong with the NKJV and KJV 2016?