Archaic Expressions
Below are some examples of the archaic expressions used in the 1611 King James Version (KJV).
Genesis 21:26 (KJV)
26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
1 Chronicles 26:16 (KJV)
16 To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.
1 Chronicles 26:18 (KJV)
18 At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.
Jeremiah 5:25 (KJV)
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
Matthew 2:7 (KJV)
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Matthew 2:19 (KJV)
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Matthew 5:26 (KJV)
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Matthew 5:33 (KJV)
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Matthew 5:37 (KJV)
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Matthew 6:9 (KJV)
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:25 (KJV)
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Matthew 6:31 (KJV)
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Luke 12:59 (KJV)
59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
Acts 6:11 (KJV)
11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
Acts 7:11 (KJV)
11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
Acts 7:14 (KJV)
14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
Acts 19:9 (KJV)
9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
2 Kings 6:6 (KJV)
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
English speakers today do not commonly use words like thee or thou or wot not or causeway or parbar or withholden or privily or appeareth or uttermost farthing or forswear or thine oaths or yea and nay or art or mammon or raiment or wherewithal or mite or suborned or dearth or kindred or threescore or divers or spake or thither or envieth or vaunteth or suffereth or charity. The word charity today means giving donations to social works but in 1611 it meant “love” so the meaning of some words have changed over time. Today we do not say that the “iron did swim” but rather it floated. So the King James Version of 1611 has many archaic words beside just the use of “thee” and “thou” throughout this translation. Computer spellchecker software will constantly flag KJV words and mark them as misspells because the computer software does not recognize archaic spellings. The KJV is out of date in many ways because the English language has changed so much from 1611 until present-time.
Even though many of these KJV words are archaic, we still do not throw out the KJV by regarding it as entirely obsolete! We will give examples where the KJV was the only translation out of nine choices that got certain verses translated correctly. It is for this reason that we have retained the KJV as one of the nine translations we used in complying our 7K-Bible.