Good morning, Ralph.

I've just now had a quick peek at the passage, to try and see what all the fuss is about.

Romans 8:28

Οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν τὸν θεὸν πάντα συνεργεῖ [ὁ θεὸς] εἰς ἀγαθόν τοῖς κατὰ πρόθεσιν κλητοῖς οὖσιν (literally, 'And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose').

First it's important to acknowledge that the Greek text that underpins the KJV translation of Romans 8:28 (i.e. the 'Textus Receptus') is lexically identical to the modern critical Greek text (i.e. the NA27/UBS4). There are slight punctuation differences here and there, and there is also a text critical issue to be resolved (whether or not the second reference to God in the clause is original), but the two Greek editions largely print the same text. In other words, in this instance at least, the matter doesn't revolve around a spurious reading in the text that lies beneath the KJV's translation.

Insofar as I can tell the issue is quite minor, and relates to how the passage is to be translated (noting that this involves grappling with a tricky grammatical issue). The issue revolves around whether or not the verb συνεργέω ('works') should be read as transitive (i.e. it requires a direct subject and at least one direct object) or as intransitive (i.e. the verb has no direct object). If the second reference to 'God' in the clause is original, then the verb is transitive. If it isn't (which is the most likely option), then it's intransitive. We're then presented with two possibilities. First, that the subject of the clause is embedded in the verb, and 'God' is implied. This would lead to the translation, 'he works all things together for good'. The second option is that πάντα ('all things') becomes the subject of an intransitive verb, leading us to, 'all things work together for good'. But the reality is that neither option really affects the meaning clearly intended by the text.

To be honest, I'm not completely sure what 'error' Eric reckons he's found in the KJV translation.

Eric?

Blessings,

Ian