Riplinger wrote: "Miles Coverdale was the editor of one of the early English Bibles; the words of the Coverdale Bible are still seen in today's KJB, particularly in the Old Testament. He was intimately involved in the process of the Bible's being 'given' (2 Tim. 3:16) and 'purified' (Ps. 12:6, 7) in English" (Hazardous Materials, p. 1165).

The rendering "penance" can be found in the 1535 Coverdale's Bible at Matthew 3:8, 12:41, Luke 10:13, 11:32, 15:7, 10, 16:30, Acts 3:19 and 26:20. In his prologue to his 1535 Bible, Coverdale wrote: "Be not thou offended therefore (good Reader) though one call a scribe, that another calleth a lawyer; or elders, that another calleth father & mother; or repentance, that another calleth penance or amendment." Can KJV-only advocates such as Gail Riplinger explain the Holy Spirit’s role in this rendering “penance” being in this earlier English Bible of which the KJV was a revision?

From the Latin Vulgate, the 1535 Coverdale's Bible has the rendering "lamies" at Lamentations 4:3. From the influence of the Vulgate, Coverdale’s has “Alexandria” instead of “No” (Jer. 46:25). Instead of "mown grass" at Psalm 72:6, Coverdale's has "fleece of wool." At Psalm 28:8, Coverdale's has "strength of his people" in agreement with the LXX, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate while the KJV has only "strength." At Psalm 13:6, Coverdale's has a sentence that is not in the KJV: "Yea, I will praise the name of the LORD the most highest." Coverdale's Bible has "upon me" after "call" at Psalm 20:9 that is not in the KJV. Coverdale's Bible adds "before him" after "rejoice" at Psalm 2:11.


Miles Coverdale was involved in the editing and making of the 1539 Great Bible. In his introduction to a reprint of Coverdale's Bible, S. L. Greenslade observed that at Psalm 29:1, "Great 1540 adds to 1535 the Vulgate 'Bring young rams unto the Lord,' which has Septuagint but not Hebrew authority" (p. 24). In Psalm 14, the Great Bible (also Coverdale's Bible) has three additional verses which are not in the KJV. These three verses from the Latin Vulgate are also in the Douay-Rheims Bible [numbered Psalm 13 in Douay-Rheims]. The 1540 Great Bible added words found in the Septuagint at Psalm 17:9 [“to take away my soul”]. At the end of Psalm 33:10, the 1540 edition included this extra phrase: “and casteth out the counsels of princes.“ The 1540 Great Bible added at the end of Psalm 111 the following: “Praise the Lord for the returning again of Aggeus and Zachary the prophets.“ At the end of Psalm 136, the 1540 Great Bible has the following addition or verse not in the KJV: “O gave thanks to the Lord of Lords, for his mercy endureth for ever.“ An addition is also found in the 1540 Great Bible at the end of Psalm 134:1 [“even in the courts of the house of our God”]. Another addition is found at the end of Psalm 132:4 [“neither the temples of my head to take any rest”]. In just these few examples out of the seventy claimed additions, the Great Bible already has over one hundred words in Psalms that are not in the KJV. Gerald Hammond maintained: "Of all the books of the [English] Bible, the Psalter is the least in touch with the original text. This is a matter of familiarity--in the Authorized Version's case it is familiarity with the Great Bible version in the Book of Common Prayer" (Making of the English Bible, p. 86).

The Great Bible has some other additions in the Old Testament not found in the KJV. At the end of Proverbs 12:11, the 1540 edition of the Great Bible has the following: “who so hath pleasure to continue at the wine, leaveth dishonour in his own dwelling.” After Proverbs 13:13, the 1540 Great Bible added the following sentence: “A deceitful son shall have no good: but a discreet servant shall do full well, and his way shall prosper.” After Proverbs 15:5, the following is found in the 1540 Great Bible: “Where righteousness is plentiful, there is very great power, but the imaginations of the ungodly shall be rooted out.” After Proverbs 15:27, it has this addition: “Through mercy and faith are sins purged, and through the fear of the Lord doth every one eschew evil.”

The first authorized English Bible (the Great Bible) has over one hundred words in just one New Testament book (Acts) [see and check Acts 4:25, 4:27, 5:15, 13:30, 14:7, 15:34c, 15:41c, 18:4, 23:24c, 24:17; Rom. 4:5c, 4:18c, 8:23, 12:17 in the Great Bible]which are not found in the third authorized Bible (the KJV). How many more words would the Great Bible have than the KJV if all the books of the Bible were compared? Some other examples include Matthew 24:41 where the Great Bible added: "Two in a bed, the one shall be received, and the other refused." "He shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" is added to the end of Matthew 7:21. Another addition is found at Luke 16:21 [“and no man gave unto him”]. At the end of Luke 24:36, the 1540 edition added: “It is I, scare not.” At the end of 1 Corinthians 4:16, the Great Bible added: "as I follow Christ." The words "with whom also I am lodged" are added to the end of 1 Corinthians 16:19. The Great Bible added the following at 2 John 11: "Behold, I have told you before that ye should not be ashamed in the day of the Lord." After the word “fire” in Jude 1:23, there is also an addition [“and have compassion on the other”]. At the end of Jude 1:24, another addition is found [“at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”]. After the words “the third part” and before the phrase “of trees” at Revelation 8:7, the 1540 edition has added words [“of the earth was set on fire, and the third part”].

Thanks, Steven, for showing that if Gail Riplinger can praise Miles Coverdale and can accept his 1535 Coverdale's Bible, his 1538 English New Testament, and his 1539 Great Bible that she has not valid basis for her many accusations against the NKJV.