Why the King James Bible is not Obsolete

 

In the table's grey portion, notice how the KJV uses different words for each case whereas modern English blends them together. When Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again", did he refer only to Nicodemus (singular) or did he mean "all mankind" (plural)? The meaning is lost in modern English but retained in both the Greek and in KJV English: "Ye must be born again." Thus, choosing a translation may determine whether an important doctrinal issue is preserved or lost.

 

Present Day English

Nominative

Objective

Possessive

1st person s.

I

me

my (mine)

1st person pl.

we

us

our (ours)

2nd person s.

you

you

your (yours)

2nd person pl.

you

you

your (yours)

3rd person s.

he, she

him, her

his, hers

3rd person pl.

they

them

theirs

KJV English differs in 2nd person pronouns

 

 

 

2nd person s.

thou

thee

thy (thine)

2nd person pl.

ye

you

your (yours)

 

The Old Testament Hebrew also suffers from modern English:

 

Genesis 19:18-19

NIV:  "No my lords...Your servant..."

KJV:  "not so, my Lord... thy servant..."

 

"Thy" is always singular which means the one being addressed is singular. So which version is correct? See NIV footnote which admits the Hebrew is singular, but violates this knowledge in their translation.

 

In addition to pronouns, modern translations such as the NIV, NASB, LB, NKJV, & RSV, lose distinction between verbs (love, lovest, loveth), resulting in further degradation. The KJV verb endings "est" (second person) and "eth" (third person) follow quite closely to modern non-English languages, making it more valuable to missionaries in foreign countries.

 

English

Russian

German

lovest

lubeesh

Liebst

loveth

lubeet

Liebt

helpest

pomaguyesh

Hilfst

helpeth

pomaguyet

Hilft

runnest

begayesh

Laufst

runneth

begayet

Lauft

sleepest

speesh

schlafst

sleepeth

speet

schlaft

 

If a person referred to a jet as a "great flying iron silver bird", would you think that person was educated in English? One word replacing many words is considered a language advancement. Notice how current English has NOT advanced:

 

Job 2:8

KJV: potsherd

NIV: piece of broken pottery