The accusation that there are dead words in the KJB

Modern translation advocates often argue that the King James Bible has hard words or doesn’t make sense, and that people should use newer translations. One modernist supporter said that there were dead words in the King James Bible.

I responded to him saying:

The underlying premise that there are words which are essentially “meaningless” in the King James Bible is false. Words have meanings, and those meanings are understood by believers as they study properly. Seeing as Scripture is God’s word, then of course there are some difficult words, but the special thing about “hard” words in the King James Bible is that they are needed and communicate exactly the message of the original. To smear the King James Bible with these fabrications that its words are misunderstood is unfair, and is a blatant attempt to demote the truth.

He replied that nobody is saying words are meaningless. He said that to a modern speaker, words like “let”/”letteth” are perceived as meaning allow, because that is how that word is used today. He said that there is nothing to indicate to the modern speaker any other meaning. He said that the KJB translators use the word “let” to mean prevent, which, he said, is the total opposite. On this basis he argued that the wording of the KJB should be updated.

Here is my lengthy reply:

Your argument still is that the words of the KJB should be changed because they are on occasion meaningless or misleading in meaning to modern speakers. However everything about your view is refutable. Here’s a correct and logical approach:

1. The King James Bible is not confusing if you understand it

2. You can understand it because:

a. God helps you

b. You can learn

3. God’s will is to make His truth known and he has given people capacity to receive it

4. The standard of truth or measure of goodness is not “modern readers” but God

THEREFORE “modern readers” need to be transformed in their thinking

On one side you are exalting the modern reader’s inability to understand properly, while on the other side I am exalting God’s ability to have the willing understand properly.

Like the “woke” people, you set yourself to speak on behalf of the poor ignorant folk who don’t know what “let” means, yet are you unwilling to help people understand so they can keep the King James Bible? Why would God, whose knowledge is high, have supplied you as the best teachers and conveyors of His truth by supplying new and simplified translations, when the conceptual accuracy and communication of God is so high, particular and exact? Your Bible teaching must therefore be equivalent to keeping doctrine at explanations for three year olds, rather than at the precision of every word, syllable and letter of the KJB. You simply don’t know what nuances and depths of doctrines you are missing out on. The worst thing about this is most of the leading people of your side want it that way. Too often as well it is convenient to claim to adhere to the “real” truth in Hebrew/Greek because that allows the translator/interpreter to massage the meaning. Whatever happened to God having His actual meaning, absolute truth?

By the way, the word “let” does mean something like allow, as in 1 Cor. 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” What you meant to say was, there are occasions where the same looking word may have other meanings. That’s called homography. What you seem to be saying is that homography must be eliminated because “modern readers” may not know when it is happening.

SOLUTION: Turn modern readers into Biblical readers/hearers.