The Word That Wasn’t There: Unmasking the 1946 Insertion That Hijacked the Gospel.

A message to Believers

For 3,346 years, the word “homosexual” did not exist in the biblical record. Let that sink in. Not once in any scroll, parchment, or manuscript from Genesis to Revelation did this modern term appear—until 1946, when it was abruptly inserted into the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible. And with that single translation choice, centuries of theology were redrawn, the lens of interpretation was tinted with cultural bias, and millions of lives were refracted through a word that never belonged in the Word of God.

This wasn’t just a poor choice in vocabulary—it was a violation. The original Greek terms in 1 Corinthians 6:9, malakoi and arsenokoitai, were replaced—not translated, but overwritten—by the modern German word “homosexuell,” coined in 1868, almost 1,800 years after Paul penned his letters through the breath of the Holy Spirit. And who was responsible for this distortion? A committee led by Dr. Luther Weigle of Yale Divinity School, operating under a post-war American theological framework that largely viewed same-sex attraction as immoral without proper biblical nuance or linguistic discipline.

Malakoi literally means “soft,” often used in ancient Greek to describe luxury, moral laziness, or effeminacy—not sexual orientation. Its appearance in 1 Corinthians 6:9 was originally a moral or social commentary, not a sexual one. Scholars have debated its meaning for centuries, many suggesting it refers to general moral laxity or cultural weakness. Yet somehow, in 1946, it was lumped into a new compound accusation that no ancient reader would have recognized.

Arsenokoitai is even more obscure. It combines arsen (male) and koitai (beds), and its meaning is ambiguous. Paul may have coined it himself, as it’s found nowhere else in Greek literature before him. Some scholars connect it to the Levitical bans on male-male intercourse, while others assert it referenced exploitative sexual behavior—such as temple prostitution or economic coercion. What it doesn’t mean, definitively, is “homosexual” in the modern, consensual, orientation-based sense. That interpretation is retroactive, rooted in 20th-century ideology—not first-century theology.

And this is where the problem metastasizes.

By inserting “homosexual” into the text, the RSV translators fundamentally altered the message, casting an eternal verdict on a group of people based not on divine truth, but on cultural misunderstanding. The Word of God—which warns us not to add or subtract from its testimony—was tampered with. And God had something to say about that long before 1946.

In Deuteronomy 4:2, the Lord declares, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it.” In Proverbs 30:5-6, we are told that every word of God is tested, and to “not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” And in Revelation 22:18-19, the warning becomes terminal: “If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described… and take away his share in the tree of life.”

So what happens when a mistranslation leads to condemnation?

It births theology out of ignorance, exclusion, and pain. It creates churches that reject people before they even enter. It arms preachers with false weapons to pierce hearts they were meant to heal. And worst of all—it attributes judgment to a God who came to offer life.

Many preachers today still do not understand what malakoi and arsenokoitai truly mean. They parrot what they were taught without ever checking the original languages or historical context. This ignorance isn’t just careless—it’s dangerous. As James 3:1 warns, “Not many of you should become teachers… for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

Worse still are those who claim to speak for God while spreading distortion. Jeremiah 23:16 speaks of false prophets who “fill you with vain hopes… speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 18:20 says that any prophet who presumes to speak a word God has not commanded “shall die.” These aren’t metaphors—they are declarations of the severity of misrepresenting divine truth.

And that’s exactly what happened in 1946. The translators presumed. They inserted. They misled.

They took a divine message and fused it with a manmade judgment.

The fruit of that decision? Alienation. Suicide. Shame. Generational trauma. Souls that longed to know God turned away by a gate that He never closed. All because modern man dared to reshape an eternal Word.

But God is not the author of confusion or cruelty. He is the author of life, of truth, and of love. Scripture proclaims that every person is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), and that God does not look at the outward appearance but at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Science now affirms what grace has always known: that same-sex attraction is not a decision or defect—it is a natural orientation within the diverse design of humanity.

So what does that make those who condemn the born?

Wrong.

Preaching rooted in distortion causes people to stumble. It breeds self-righteousness, misjudgment, and theological malpractice. Matthew 7:1-2 reminds us, “For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.” And Matthew 23:27-28 calls out those who appear holy but are “full of dead men’s bones” inside.

Churches have become tombs for the living because they buried the truth in fear.

It’s time to dig it back up.

Understanding the original Greek, honoring the historical context, and rejecting the linguistic violence of mistranslation is not revisionism—it is repentance. It is restoration. It is returning to the unfiltered Word of God, where every soul—regardless of gender or orientation—is welcome to meet the one who is Truth Himself.

To the preachers: your words can wound or heal. Choose wisely.

To the wounded: the Bible never condemned your orientation—only man did.

And to the Church: tear down the walls you’ve built with corrupted translations and let the true Word of God stand unshaken in its power, grace, and unrelenting love.

This is not about rewriting Scripture—it’s about unmasking those who already did.