The Triquetra and the NKJV

Triquetra, noun. A triangular geometrical figure used as an ornamental design, especially one having three interlaced arcs.

The Thomas Nelson hardback New King James Version (NKJV) that I own does not have the symbol on the cover (as shown above), but rather it is moved inside to the cover page. It is my understanding that new NKJV Bibles no longer have the symbol.

“Title page logo: The triquetra (from a Latin word meaning ‘three-cornered’) is an ancient symbol for the Trinity. It comprises three interwoven arcs, distinct yet equal and inseparable, symbolizing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct yet equal Persons and indivisibly One God.” (NKJV, 1982, p. ii)

Pastor Scott Ingram stirred up a lot of folks with a recent YouTube video, Why is there a Symbol on the NKJV Bible?

(starts about 2:34) “The source is a lady named Gail Riplinger…who many years ago wrote a book called New Age Bible Versions and many people found her book enlightening and have used it as a source for their studies on the differences in Bible translations. The image and the information about this that is frequently copied and pasted and repeated is from one of her tracts on the NKJV. At the beginning of this tract (called ‘The Death Certificate for the NKJV’) she gives us this information about the symbol that’s on the NKJV. She asserts the NKJV logo is the ancient symbol for the Pagan Trinity not the Christian Trinity…”

This symbol on the New King James Version (NKJV) has kindled much smoke and fire in the Bible versions debates, plenty of heat that generates little light. The tract of Gail Riplinger (mentioned by Ingram and illustrated above) is just one of many examples of the charge against the NKJV using a pagan symbol.

Truly Gail Riplinger has had oversized influence among some King James Bible supporters. However, some others claim that they have studied the issue for themselves and independently came to the same general conclusion as Riplinger, without having ever read her statement on the triquetra. I have no reason to doubt their honesty. NKJV supporters have pushed back against the charge. NKJV translator James D. Price has been particularly active, writing against the Death Sentence by Riplinger and even on The Triquetra itself.

Symbols created from figures such as loops, circles, squares, and triangles are inherently neutral. Therefore, a symbol represents what the user means for it to represent.[i] This, however, does not exclude its meaning different things to different people. The use and meaning according to more than one source can create confusion in the mind of persons seeing the symbol. Nevertheless, it is best to assume the editor/publishers of the NKJV used the triquetra symbol for the reason they claim, even if it has other associations. When this debate heats up, it clouds the real issue – what is the worth of the NKJV as a translation – and leads to more charges and countercharges.[ii]

If this were a ploy of Satan, for what reason would he and his minions place a pagan satanic symbol on a product he intends to market to conservative Christians? None I can think of. He is a more skilled deceiver than that (Revelation 12:9).

From www.theirishroadtrip.com

Do not take any thing I have written as a defense of the New King James Version. It is a poor substitute intended to supplant the King James Bible. There are reasons to object to it replacing the old King James Version. However, what is on its cover really is not one of them. This argument tends to appeal to emotion and superstition rather than biblical theology and sound reasoning. It obscures the real issues that should be dealt with concerning the NKJV.

The things that should be inspected and considered most, rather than some ternion ornamental design, are the meat of the translation itself:

• Some of the translators worked simultaneously on the New International Version, and
• The translators of the NKJV did not prefer the Greek text they were using, and
• There are some Critical Text preferences that creep into the readings, via either text or translation.

I can sum up my personal objections to the NKJV in three categories, “text issues,” “translation issues,” and “trust issues.”

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[i] The Irish Road Trip and The Book of Kells provide some interesting thoughts on the triquetra.

[ii] This is not just a made-up possibility. For example, I have heard folks who dislike the old King James Bible claim that the 1611 printing of this translation has Rosicrucian & Masonic symbols in the art work. See also How many occult symbols can you find in the 1611 first edition of the King James Bible? There is an apparently new “conspiracy theory” that Scofield Reference Bibles use the circumpunct (ʘ) as a marker for some desperate clandestine purpose! (The Scofield notes are often deficient and unsound; we don’t have to look for something wrong in a neutral geometrical figure used to mark verses.)