Hacker Attacks BibleGateway.com, Switches KJV and Amplified Bibles
Fundamentals everywhere lament their "unauthorized" scripture references
Category: Technology
MUSKEGON, MI – In the days leading up to July 6th, the U.S. government and private technology experts issued warnings that hackers involved in a loosely organized contest planned to attack thousands of computers across the country. Although the contest is over and the severity of the damage is unknown, it is certain that at least the owners and users of BibleGateway.com have fallen victim to one hacker’s malicious and deceptive onslaught. The attack involved breaking into BibleGateway.com’s computers and switching the online versions of the King James Bible and the Amplified Bible. The results of this assault echoed through sanctuaries and chapels all across the nation.
From Sunday at 1:28 AM till Tuesday at 7:39 PM anyone at BibleGateway.com who looked up passages in the King James Version of the Bible was actually presented with passages from the Amplified Bible (and vice versa). It wasn’t until BibleGateway.com’s feedback center was bombarded with thousands of complaints that they looked into and resolved the issue. Compliments were also submitted.
Barbara Hamburg, one of the site’s support specialists recalls, “At first we were confused. I mean, the complaints were very confusing, like, ‘Your KJV sucks!’ and ‘What foul-mouthed blasphemer wrote your Bibles?’ So for a couple of days we just responded with our standard ‘Just trust in the Lord and pray—everything will work out for good!’ That usually does the trick.”
Rainford explains, “I was up very late on little sleep Friday night gathering God’s word for my sermon slides. I must’ve been too tired to notice the devil’s foothold pulling me down into the demonic realm of blasphemy. The screen said it was the KJV, but evil can creep in very subtly!”
Some of Rainford’s cohorts, while horrified by the mix-up, are surprised that he of all people could let this slip by. Pastor Dale Embrook, another speaker at the conference, explains, “Good mercy, there was nothing subtle about the toxin that was spewing from his mouth! How Satan was able to deceive him on such a simple verse, I do not know.”
The verse in question is John 11:35—the shortest verse in the Bible. Instead of reading “Jesus wept,” as found in the KJV, Rainford quoted the Amplified Bible and read, “Jesus, the certain god-man whose blessed flesh was pierced by the sword as he, the redeemer of all iniquity, stood troubled in the shadow of one man’s recent death as the power-indwelling Spirit set weight on his holy tear ducts, wept.”
Billy Zeoli, president and CEO of BibleGateway.com’s parent company Gospel Communications International, responded to the hacker’s attack, “We are truly saddened by this malicious act. Also, as unfortunate and disturbing as this attack is, it is clearly stated in our disclaimer that the accuracy of our online content cannot be guaranteed and Gospel Communications International is not in any way liable for the negative ramifications that may result from the use of its content. Again, our hearts are with each and every victim of this crime.” His compassion runs deeper still, as he later vowed to “pay more attention” to the integrity of gospelcom.net’s content.
As the AFBA and every other victim of this ruthless attack begins to heal, we are reminded that evil has no boundaries in its quest to corrupt what is good and deceive oblivious Internet users.
I wonder if there is not another error on this article. I have an amplified Bible in my hand and it clearly states, And Jesus wept. Are you sure that the words you say come from the Amplified Bible is correct. and not from another version. I try to only use the Bible text from prior 1900 and was assured that this Amplified was based on those original texts. So far I have not found any differences and this is stunning to see in print and then for it not be correct when I look at my persona copy. Thanks for any information you can give me. I must know. Jeanie
You guys think you’re funny, but your only boring, “100 pastors wives fainted”- give me a break! And your amplified version is phony also. I submit a prayer for God’s mercy on you.
When I opened this page to read the article you posted about the “hacker,” I was presented a cartooned depiction of a FAT woman and her stomach. I thought this was an example of the hacking so I clicked on the arrow so as to be more informed. Subsequently, I was taken to a site on how to lose stomach fat.
My only question is, “What’s up with Biblegateway.com?
How bout the DISCLAIMER? Freaking out?
Learn Greek. It gets rid of most of these problems. I very much dislike the KJV, but mostly because I dislike “thee”s and “thou”s. I also like my Deuterocanonicals, thank you very much.
Your KJV sucks!’ and ‘What foul-mouthed blasphemer wrote your Bibles.” Are you saying Christians wrote that! Sad to say that they would call themselves Christians.
They need to read the definition of what a Christian is.
As Jeanie says, mine also says “Jesus wept” knew it wasn’t in there, unless there is another Amplified out there some where.
This appears to be a joke. Why isn’t that clearly stated in the article?
Btw, do you know of a KJV only church that has 13000 members?
You have a hundred or so translations. Why do you not have a Hebrew translation from the Besorah? Do you think it ‘s possible that you could get one. Right now I look up scripture in the KJV and then look that up in my Besorah.
Shalom
It is FAKE guys.
This is a SATIRICAL site. It’s like a Christian version of the Onion (which, by the way, does not have a disclaimer on every article).
They’re just making fun of how serious people get about different bible versions.
i believed that the king james 1611 version is the only bible on planet earth that has’nt been corrup like the rest of the
modern versions including the amplified bible,niv,ams,rsv,and all of the above corrupt versions the all based upon old manuscrits that have been pretty much corrupt. These modern versions are most of the time 90% or 95% correct but there is a 5% difference that they are incorrect not only incorrect bu they are 5% corrupt. The king james version 1611 was taken from the received text, this was not a manuscript but a text that was taken from the origonals autographs that our early forefathers were so careful to hide and kept until the translators of the english bible back in 1611.
there was also after the 1611 king james version, another translation into spanish actually was the first translation in
spanish that was taken from the king james version, that is Casedorio De Reina old version.
I don’t know what translation the John 11:35 was from, but it sure WASN’T Amplified. It too simply says, Jesus wept. You should check your facts before such reporting.
How sad that “11,000” people walked out and 100 wives “fainted” when a translation other than KJV showed up on a screen. First of all I doubt the veracity of that staement. If the statement is true, it shows how Hermeneutic IGNORANCE is perpetuated in an out of date translation that has many translation errors that lead to incorrect doctrinal applications. I believe in the innerancy of God’s word, not a faulted human translation. With today’s accurate and Godly inspired translations such as ESV, NASB, NIV,NLT and others, today’s serious Bible student can better understand what God wants to show us in his word.
Seriously!! This is a joke!!:)
This is ridiculous. If people are in positions to teach and produce power points they are also going to be familiar with different versions of the Bible. The Amplified is just that a “pumped up” version of scripture that provides the volume Hebrew and Greek bring to the Word of God. Chances that the Amplified could be mistaken for the KJV are slim. Western culture is always looking for ways to discredit Christians and the one true God, but God will have the last laugh.
THIS IS UNREAL…I LAUGH SO HARD!! WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIANS FALL OUT OVER SUCH A SMALL ISSUE. PEOPLE ARE ON THEIR WAY TO HELL AND GODS PEOPLE ARE WALKING OUT OF CONFERENCES OVER A TRANSLATION. HOW CHILDISH CAN YOU BE. LETS PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS AND GET THE GOSPEL TO A LOSS AND DYING WORLD.
This is not a joke….it’s a soap opera. These rude, malicious statements exaggerate the fact that people aren’t really reading any version of the Bible. If you were…..you’d act different….like walking in wisdom, love and encouraging each other to excel. Jesus isn’t pacing the floor distracted, or worried and overwhelmed that He has to much to do….nor does He faint when people make a mistake. He is King, He is Lord and He alone. Where do you stand in this? He is supposed to be dwelling in YOU. To much dependance on peripheral devices to accomplish a “calling” only deviates from a true God given Anointing. Spiritual failure is imminent, the main enemy today is distraction and overwork. Please, spend some time with HIM! And be thankful that someone like Biblegateway would devote their time to put any version of the Bible online. How aggravated are you that the world offers dirty movies and shows porn? And if you’re mad at this comment….check your heart!
This entire article is so obviously fake, “over 100 attending pastors’ wives fainted in their dismay” – that line gave it away. Pity that each time we add a reply to it, it keeps this dung on the first page of google.
Joking around is fair enough, the lord doesn’t mind that we do that if there’s no sin involved. If you have to lie to make a joke on someone and/or be misleading to others, then that is pure & simply called SIN!! You can’t dress it up another way. If the authors of this article are born again christians then they need our prayers & God’s mercy, but if they are not christians, then they should know that they are sowing malicious seed and they will reap what they are sowing.