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Single Books for Small Devices - RKJV Basic Translations of Hebrew Books, Alphabetical Order
Single Books for Small Devices - RKJV Basic Translations of Hebrew Books, KJV Order
Single Books for Small Devices - RKJV Plain English Translations of Hebrew Books, KJV Order
Quick Links:
"Basic" English Section
Individual Books with "Basic English"
A "Basic English" PDF Book with Internal Hyperlinks
Standard "Basic English" PDF Books
eBooks / HTML Books
"Plain" English Section
"Plain English" Single Books
Plain English" with Colour Highlighted Text
Plug ins for Bible software
Five Books of Moses:
  Basic English Monocolour (YHWH)
  Plain English Monocolour (YHWH)
  Plain English Colour Enhanced (YHWH)

Restored King James Version Bible Translations

Welcome! Choose your selection from the free English multiple versions of the Hebrew scriptures and one version of the New Testament.
Yes, multiple versions of the Hebrew scriptures. Typical translations from other sources are prepared by a group of scholars who discuss and eventually decide on one text. The final text may be available as Hardback, Softcover, CD, Bible software module, etc., but there is basically only the one text in various forms.
The Restored King James Version documents are quite different.

But first, why alter the traditional King James Version text?
When the first King James Version was printed, four centuries ago, it was meant for the common people, rather than just the clergy and Latin scholars, for them to read in their contemporary language. In the centuries since, the language of the times has changed. "Apple" was a generic term for fruit, "meat" meant any food. Today, we do not use "didst" and "thine". The archaic vocabulary is often a barrier for modern readers. The words are ok for funerals and short scripture verse readings on Sundays, but not for daily reading. The Restored King James Version books are in modern language because they are meant to be read and enjoyed in our times.

A little known defect of the King James Version is the mistranslation and confusion over the divine proper name noun and the generic title "baal". In the source documents used by the KJV translators, derived from the ancient Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the name of the Divinity, a proper noun, was transformed to a generic title (Lord), and the Hebrew title Baal (meaning Lord) was retained as if it were a proper name, exactly the wrong way around. These errors have been continued in other derivatives of The King James Bible, but have been corrected in the Restored King James Version documents.

A Further Difference from Other Translations
Hebrew has more than one word which is translated into English as god, leading to ill informed beliefs. Imagine reading an English novel where the words "brother", "sister", "cousin", "mother", "father", "uncle", etc were all rephrased as "relative". Technically, it would be correct but much of the meaning would be lost to the reader, with potential misunderstandings and confusion. Mary may be described as a relative of John, but is she his mother, his sister, his wife, his cousin, his grand-daughter, etc? Why not prevent the confusion by retaining the original words? Our "Restored King James Bible Translations" in this Library have been derived from the King James Authorized Version with the words "God" and "LORD" restored to the original Hebrew words (according to Strong). To improve readability, the verbs and pronouns have been updated to modern forms (no "thou", "sayest", etc). These volumes are very useful in understanding the usage and meanings of "God", "LORD", "El", "Elohim", "Eloah", "YHVH" (or "YHWH" or "JHVH"), "YHVH YHVH" (or "YHWH YHWH"), "Adon", "Adonai", etc. As an example, the important word "Elohim" is central to the understanding of the Old Testament God and to the reason for salvation, but is the subject of numerous claims regarding its meaning. Some meanings have been "creator", "man from space", a collective noun meaning a family of gods, and a group of powerful angels. The advocates of these claims tell good stories and appear to have evidence to support their ideas. How can you tell what is correct? Check for yourself in these Restored King James books! or do the restoration yourself with your own concordance. Don't take the word of some one else; prove it yourself from the original documents! These RKJV books have all of the "Elohim" restored and shown explicitly, allowing the reader to learn the true meaning of "Elohim" and to see which alleged "meanings" do not fit. Let the original inspired scriptures of the Bible explain themselves. By considering all of the uses, not just a selected few which support the story teller's spiel, you will see from the usage that many of the claims about the meaning of Elohim are incorrect.

A Further Difference from Other Translations

Hebrew has more than one word which is translated into English as god, leading to ill informed beliefs. Imagine reading an English novel where the words "brother", "sister", "cousin", "mother", "father", "uncle", etc were all rephrased as "relative". Technically, it would be correct but much of the meaning would be lost to the reader, with potential misunderstandings and confusion. Mary may be described as a relative of John, but is she his mother, his sister, his wife, his cousin, his grand-daughter, etc? Why not prevent the confusion by retaining the original words?

Our "Restored King James Bible Translations" in this Library have been derived from the King James Authorized Version with the words "God" and "LORD" restored to the original Hebrew words (according to Strong). To improve readability, the verbs and pronouns have been updated to modern forms (no "thou", "sayest", etc).

These volumes are very useful in understanding the usage and meanings of "God", "LORD", "El", "Elohim", "Eloah", "YHVH" (or "YHWH" or "JHVH"), "YHVH YHVH" (or "YHWH YHWH"), "Adon", "Adonai", etc.

As an example, the important word "Elohim" is central to the understanding of the Old Testament God and to the reason for salvation, but is the subject of numerous claims regarding its meaning. Some meanings have been "creator", "man from space", a collective noun meaning a family of gods, and a group of powerful angels. The advocates of these claims tell good stories and appear to have evidence to support their ideas. How can you tell what is correct? Check for yourself in these Restored King James books! or do the restoration yourself with your own concordance. Don't take the word of some one else; prove it yourself from the original documents!

These RKJV books have all of the "Elohim" restored and shown explicitly, allowing the reader to learn the true meaning of "Elohim" and to see which alleged "meanings" do not fit. Let the original inspired scriptures of the Bible explain themselves. By considering all of the uses, not just a selected few which support the story teller's spiel, you will see from the usage that many of the claims about the meaning of Elohim are incorrect.

Multiple Versions Three major classes of versions are:

"Basic" English: Simple updates with minimal alterations to the old style English of the 1600s, e.g. "thou", "thee", "dost" etc have been updated.
"Plain" English: Further updates with more contemporary English to enhance readability,
Colour highlighting of words attributed to divine origin: Often provided in the New Testament as Red Letter, but not otherwise provided in the Old Testament. This feature seems to be unique to the RKJV publications.

The following table illustrates some differences:

"Basic English": simple updates with minimal alterations to the old style English of the 1600s, as individual books, as a collection of individual books, as PDF books formatted for A4 or Letter paper with narrow or wider margins, ebook, and modules for The Word Bible Software. ;

"Plain English": further updates with more contemporary English to enhance readability, --add more---.

"Plain English with Colour Highlights": "Plain English" to enhance readability, plus the highlighting of words attributed to divine origin as HTML / eBook ("Colour Enhanced "Plain" English").

Example: Comparison of Exodus 19:3-6
Classical King James 3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. RKJV Basic English (Minimal changes from classical King James) 3 And Moses went up unto Elohim, and YHWH called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel. RKJV Plain English ( "Plain English" is more contemporary than "Basic English") 3 And Moses went up to Elohim, and YHWH called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. RKJV Plain English with Colour Highlighted Text ( "Plain English" is more contemporary than "Basic English") 3 And Moses went up to Elohim, and YHWH called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

Example: Comparison of Exodus 19:3-6

Classical King James
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

RKJV Basic English (Minimal changes from classical King James)
3 And Moses went up unto Elohim, and YHWH called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel.

RKJV Plain English ( "Plain English" is more contemporary than "Basic English")
3 And Moses went up to Elohim, and YHWH called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

RKJV Plain English with Colour Highlighted Text ( "Plain English" is more contemporary than "Basic English")
3 And Moses went up to Elohim, and YHWH called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

"Basic English" Section

Individual Books with "Basic English"

Traditional Order

Books of The Law

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy
Books of History

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther
Books of Poetry & Wisdom

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon
Books of The Major Prophets

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel
Books of The Minor Prophets

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

A "Basic English" PDF Book with Internal Hyperlinks

This book is the RKJV - Basic Series: 2012 YHWH Rendition.
Using a browser such as Firefox or Opera, you should be able to navigate within the PDF book of the Hebrew Scriptures. It contains a Quick Links section at the front so you can jump within the 906 page document quickly. It may work in a smartphone or eBook reader which accepts PDF documents, but has not been tested. Some devices have not yet implemented clickable internal links, and some eBook readers do not like preformatted pages. You can download the 3.55MB file from here.
Individual Basic Mono books may be accessed at alternate links.

Standard "Basic English" PDF Books

These PDF books contain 2009 or earlier versions of the early individual RKJV books gathered in the normal order, formatted in two printer paper sizes: A4 and letter. Pages are layed out in two columns. Each PDF file is around 6 MB.

Two margin sizes are available.

The standard sized margin publications have a wider margin on the left side of odd numbered pages than on the right side, and a wider margin on the right side of even numbered pages, to allow for double sided binding. They are 841 pages for A4 paper size, and 879 pages for Letter paper.
The narrow margin publications use more of the available page. They are 629 pages for A4 paper and 659 for Letter paper.

There are three alternate Divine Name versions, which should suit almost everyone who is seeking a more accurate rendition of the Divine Name. Only the four consonants are displayed; the reader can mentally expand it to whatever is desired. For example, JHVH can be a representation of 'Jehovah'; YHVH a representation of 'Yahveh", 'Yehovah', 'Yahovah', etc; and YHWH a representation of 'Yahweh', 'Yehowah", 'Yahowah', etc.

JHVH version: A4 paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 629 pp), A4 paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 841 pp), letter paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 659 pp), letter paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 879 pp)
YHVH version: A4 paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 629 pp), A4 paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 841 pp), letter paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 659 pp), letter paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 879 pp)
YHWH version: A4 paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 631 pp), A4 paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 841 pp), letter paper size, narrow margins (5.9 MB, 659 pp), letter paper size, standard margins (6.3 MB, 881 pp)

eBooks / HTML Books

HTML books are readable as eBooks.

No Highlights, "Basic English"

("Basic English" is closer to the old style King James Version English)
Built with the 2012 text.

YHWH HTML file (3.5 MB) or zip file (1 MB)
JHVH HTML file (3.5 MB) or zip file (1 MB)

"Plain English" Section

("Plain" uses more contemporary English than "Basic")

"Plain English" Single Books

Traditional Order
Books of The Law

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy
Books of History

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther
Books of Poetry & Wisdom

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon
Books of The Major Prophets

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel
Books of The Minor Prophets

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

"Plain English" with Colour Highlighted Text

An HTML book comprising all of the Hebrew Scriptures with the 2013 updated King James English and representation of the Divine Name as YHWH or JHVH is available with words of divine origin highlighted in colour. It contains internal links to make navigation easier, and a quick links section at the beginning to assist on small screen devices.

YHWH HTML file
JHVH HTML file

Ordering for Better Comprehension

Traditional order hinders understanding because the story flow is disjointed.
A better ordering for most of the books is:

From Moses to the first king (Saul)
Time of David
Time of Solomon
Time from the split into a North Kingdom and a South Kingdom at the time of Solomon's death until the time of the conquest of the North Kingdom by the Assyrians and the removal of the North Kingdom peoples to other lands
Until the conquest of the Southern Kingdom by Babylonians and their exile to Babylon
The time spent by Jews in Babylon
The period after the return from Babylon, assisted by the Persians

A useful document in understanding the events after Solomon is Prophets in Time Order

Five Books of Moses Section

The final command from the Creator in the Hebrew scriptures is

Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

but most Christians completely ignore it. They should ask themselves "Why am I ignoring what the Creator has decreed should be remebered?".
This site has short publications to help you remember the five books of Moses, in three flavours at present:

Download modules for The Word Bible Software

An Old Testament module is available. This is a beta version, dated 20090410.
A Lite module is available. This is a beta version, dated 20090410.
The Lite version of the Restored King James Version was derived from the King James Version by replacing "god", "gods", "God" by the corresponding el, elah, eloah, or elohim; "the LORD" by YHWH or YHWiH; as indicated by Strong's Concordance. It also replaces "Jesus" with "Yehoshua". Unlike the regular Restored King James Version, it does not attempt to modernize any other English. The Lite RKJV is intended for those who prefer the old English wording.

The Word free software is available from http://www.theword.net/.

The archived Archival Christianity Study Library with earlier Restored King James Version and other documents can be viewed at archive.org. Paticularly recommended is Read the Book! by David Jon Hill at http://web.archive.org/web/20010528221827/web.wwa.com/~curadist/ReferenceLibrary/Christianity/WCG/DJHill/readbook.htm . Another copy is available.

Also see How to Study the Bible recommendations by David Jon Hill.

Links for further reading

Note that the Restored Names King James Version (http://www.eliyah.com/Scripture/) is a different translation and has no connection with our Restored King James Version publications.

Written by Selwyn Russell, first published September 1995. Copyright Selwyn Russell 1995, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, ..., 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Latest update: March 2024

URL of this page: http://www.rkjv.org/index.html. See also rkjv.net, rkjv.info