Q
I go to Israel often to visit and lead tours. My guides in
Israel use an English translation of the Bible. They and the
scholars that I see in Israel prefer the King James Version
because it is the closest to the exact meaning of the Hebrew.
Those who have studied Greek also prefer the KJV for the same
reason.
A
The marked difference in style between the text of the King
James Version and its preface verifies that it was not written in
the style of the period but in the style of the Greek text. The
use of word order in the Greek to indicate emphasis is followed
precisely in the sentence structure of the KJV.
New versions boast of their substitution of the word "you"
for the archaic "ye" and "thee," but do not notice that the KJV
uses the word "you" two thousand times. It only uses "ye" and
"thee" when needed, to distinguish between the Greek singular
and plural; "ye" is plural, and "thee" is singular. By using
those particular renderings, the KJV gives an exact
representation of the Greek word.
If Jesus walked into a room with a married couple and said,
"Ye are of your father the devil," the husband would not say, "He
is talking to you, honey," because "ye" is plural. In certain
places in the bible- Matthew 16 and other places- the singular
and the plural become very important. In a recent United Bible
Society newsletter for translators, a contributor recommended the
KJV because of its preciseness in this regard..