Sometimes I over complicate things even with the tools and resources at my finger tips. This was true with Hebrews 11:6. In reading the text, I noticed a small difference between my KJV and LSB:
KJV: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
LSB: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
I wanted to know how the word diligently got into the KJV. Was it a variant or something else?
So I checked other translations, including the following English translations prior to the 1611:
Wycliffe, late 1300s: “And it is impossible to plese God without feith. For it bihoueth that a man comynge to God, bileue that he is, and that he is rewardere to men that seken hym.”
Tyndale, 1526: “but without fayth it is unpossyble to please him. For he that commeth to God/must beleve that God is/and that he is a rewarder of them that seke him.”
Geneva, 1560: “But without faith it is unpossible to please him: for he that cometh to God, must beleve that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seke him.”
In the screenshot from Logos I also have:
King James Version, 1769 edition, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
New King James Version, 1982, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Legacy Standard Bible, 2021, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
As you can see, the KJV and the NKJV are the only versions which have “diligently seek,” meaning that no English speaking Christian (Baptist or other) read it that way until 1611. Are the KJV translators guilty of adding to the Word of God? Interesting question, isn’t it? Sadly, many of my KJVO brothers and sisters would be quick to accuse the new translations of such if the tables were turned. (If you don’t believe me, consider yourself fortunate to have never read their blogs, books, and comments.)
At the same time, I find it very hard to believe that nobody had God’s Word until 1611. This just is not a Biblical or a logical position.
I still wanted to know what was going on here, so I checked the KJV Parallel Bible online at https://kjvparallelbible.org and noticed there is not a variant in the manuscripts in this verse.
So what was it?
After further searching, I realized I had missed the answer and it was right there all along….
This difference was a translation choice – that is all. No need to complicate it. Notice the interlinear of the KJV, NKJV, and LSB. The underlying Greek is exactly the same. There is one Greek word behind “seek” and “diligently seek,” not two:
The difference was not in the Greek manuscripts, but in the translation of the word. So who was right and who was wrong? The answer is neither were wrong. Anyone who has ever translated from one language to another knows there are multiple ways to translate the same word or phrase. Even many of my KJVO brothers and sisters will admit this by their use of a Strongs Concordance.
The KJV translators would be appalled to know some people elevate them or their translation choices to the level of being inspired or perfect. Read what they wrote in their forward. They never believed that should be the case and neither should we.
Those translators are long gone who worked so diligently on the KJV 413 years ago, so we cannot ask them why they chose to translate ἐκζητέω as “diligently seek” instead of “seek” in Hebrews 11:6, but we know they didn’t always translate it that way. In fact, sometimes they chose just the word “seek” as seen below, which means the KJV translators were in agreement with the other translators before and after them when it comes to the translation of ἐκζητέω:
The KJV translators did a good job in their work, and so did the translators who came before them and the ones who came after them too. I am thankful for my KJV, my NKJV, my LSB…. I hold them all up as the Word of God in English. I rejoice in the translation work that happened prior to 1611 and the translation work that continues now. We are blessed to be living in 2024 to have such an amazing wealth of riches.