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After the resurrection of Christ, we are told in the Gospels, He began to teach His disci-
ples many important truths from the Scriptures. On one occasion, mentioned in Luke 24:45, Christ
referred to "THE SCRIPTURES" of the Old Testament and about the prophecies concerning Him.
What books did Christ mean by the expression, "the Scriptures"? What was the Old Testament to
Him? Notice what Christ Himself related:

"And He said unto them, these are the words I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in THE LAW OF MOSES, and IN THE PROPHETS, and
IN THE PSALMS, concerning me.

"Then opened He their understanding, that they might
understand THE SCRIPTURES" (Luke 24:44, 45).

Yes, the inspired Old Testament Scriptures for Christ comprised those books found in "The
Law, The Prophets, and The Psalms" -- the Triparte Divisions. These were the very books com-
piled by Ezra and Nehemiah, and the very books which have come down to us today in the King
James Version. We can assuredly know that OUR OLD TESTAMENT is the complete Old Testa-
ment of God. Christ has told us this in the plainest of words.

The Arrangement of the Old Testament Books

You will notice that the Old Testament in the King James Bible begins with the book of
Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. However, in the original authoritative arrangement of
the Old Testament books by Ezra and Nehemiah, this was not so. The Jews have never approved
the King James arrangement because ITS ORIGIN WAS IN EGYPT. About 250 years before
Christ there was a Greek translation made of the Hebrew Old Testament. This has become known
as the Septuagint Version. The translators of this version decided to CHANGE THE ORDER of
the books. Our King James Version follows the Latin which had this erroneous Egyptian arrange-
ment of the books in it. The Latin translations followed the Septuagint Greek translation made in
Egypt. The Septuagint does not follow the original Hebrew order established by Ezra and
Nehemiah.

When the Jews of official Judaism recognized the corruptions in the Septuagint Version,
they completely repudiated it. Notice how the early Jews looked on this translation: "The day on
which the translation of the Bible into Greek was made was regarded as a great calamity, equal to
that of the golden calf" (Sopherim, i, 7). "The day on which it was accomplished ... was com-
memorated as a day of fasting and humiliation (ibid.).

The Septuagint Version translators did not take away or add to the books of the Old Testa-
ment, but they did disrupt the Divine order of the books and faultily translated much of the original
Hebrew into Greek (Prologue to Sirach). It will be profitable for you to know what the authorita-
tive order of the Old Testament books really is. And notice that originally, before printing, the
number of scrolls were 22 -- now subdivided in the King James Version into 39.
The LAW:

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