Is the KJV hard to understand?

[Bootstrap]

Some people say the KJV is not hard to understand, even for children. I disagree with that, I really think most people need some help learning to read the KJV accurately - starting with "thou" versus "you." Some people actually think that "thou" is an especially formal or holy way to address someone, reserved for God, and that calling God "you" would be a sign of disrespect. That's the kind of thing people need to be educated about if they use the KJV.

Here are some verses I consider difficult for the average English reader today. I took these verses from this page, they ask you not to copy the page itself but the verses are not copyrightable and this is "fair us" under Copyright law.

O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompense in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. (2 Cor 6:11-13, KJV)

He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. (Job 15:26,27, KJV)

Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white; (Lev 13:24)

And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. (2 Ki 4:38)

Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. (Deu 32:14,15)

And sometimes older wording can lead to weird theological opinions ...

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jonah 3:10)

Or a good laugh:

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? (Ezek 13:18)

Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: (Isa 3:16) Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. (Isa 3:17)

[Mennogal]

Umm, yeah, I’ll stick with my CSB and NIB, thanks....

[Neto]

I got serious about reading the Bible when I was around 13 or 14. I remember reading the passage (speaking of the coming transformation) that "They which are living and remain will not prevent those who sleep." I had the sleep part down OK, but couldn't figure out why the living would have the slightest interest in "preventing" the ones who had already died from being transformed as well. I got out an English dictionary, and found that 'prevent' used to mean 'precede'. After that I kept the dictionary handy, because I had to look up a LOT of words. And I had grown up in the church, hearing the KJV read in every service. Also, my Dad was trained for the ministry in a Mennonite Bible Institute, and read the Scripture to us every night. After the Living Bible came out, he got one, and that was what he used for the breakfast & supper devotions. It was surprising to me at the time, but demonstrated that he also understood that the KJV was not understandable. (He of course grew up hearing the German Bible read.) I carried a Good News for Modern Man in HS, and for graduation my folks gave me a New American Standard (what I had asked for), which I used until the full NIV came out in 1978.

So yes, I firmly believe that the KJV is difficult to understand. I cringe when the pastor takes up a lot of his sermon time explaining things he would not need to even mention if he would have read from a modern English translation to start with. (Our congregation has gradually moved from KJV only, to being more open to the use of other translations.) One of the odd things about the former hippie co-workers with whom I did Bible study for awhile was that they insisted on using the KJV. It just made everything a lot harder, and convincing them that I was not 'explaining away the miracle' when I told them that the word 'straightway' in the book of Mark did not mean that Jesus ascended straight up out of the water after his baptism. Regardless of some textual errors in the KJV, it gave the English speakers of that time the Scripture in their own language, and in the language of their time. Why not allow people now to have the same privilege?

[KingdomBuilder]

KJV isn't hard if you're brought up in it's tradition, but for all intensive purposes, it is definitely not an easy translation to pick up.
Talking to non-Christians in archaic Elizabethan english is hardly sensible.

[RickH]

I struggle when reading the KJV. So much, that I rarely use it.
I recently came across a book where the author argues that it is a beautiful translation and has its place, but should be used carefully.
He made a little quiz (in order to promote his book) that asks you to interpret some of the verses. I thought the quiz and the book were interesting. The quiz and more information are here: https://kjvquiz.com

[Bootstrap]

I have occasionally looked something up in the Greek because it was easier to understand than a particularly confusing KJV sentence.

Speaking of which ... I wish the KJV didn't make a new line for each verse. I really prefer paragraphs and sentences.

[Pelerin]

I didn’t grow up with the KJV, though I often heard it read. When I encounter the KJV now, I don’t usually have trouble understanding it. Part of that might be that people tend to select familiar passages they can understand, but I suspect that children who do grow up hearing the KJV don’t have as much trouble understanding it because it was a part of their language formation.


I’d also like to push back on some of the examples. There were two I especially had a hard time understanding, so I looked them up in my ESV:

• Job 15:26-27 (ESV):
  26 running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;
  27 because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist

This is a little hard to understand in the first place because it’s a sentence fragment. The boss of the buckler is what made me look this up in the ESV, only to find it in the ESV as well. The boss is the round metal part in the middle of a shield: technical knowledge I found on Wikipedia.

Verse 27 is also confusing, but not for reasons of language. In the ESV, I found exactly what I thought the KJV said, but didn’t have any clearer grasp of what it meant to cover his face and sides with fat. I imagined it might be a sort of anointing, but the context leads me to think it might be an expression of wealth (i.e. enough food to be fat). In any case, it’s the culture that’s confusing, not the language. (Including verse 27 in the example was also a little unfair to because it has little to do with verse 26 and is starting a new thought.)

• Ezekiel 13:18 (ESV):
  and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?

This is much easier to understand than the KJV, but it’s also different. I can’t read the original Hebrew text, but it seems to me that the ESV is engaging in some cultural interpretation for us. Unless the KJV left something out, the purpose of the pillows (magic) has been inserted by the ESV. That’s not wrong per se (I wouldn’t have understood the meaning otherwise), and you can debate translation philosophy. But let’s not blame the KJV’s language for what is actually the strangeness and alienness of the ancient near eastern culture of the Bible.

[Valerie]

I didn’t grow up with the KJV, though I often heard it read. When I encounter the KJV now, I don’t usually have trouble understanding it. Part of that might be that people tend to select familiar passages they can understand, but I suspect that children who do grow up hearing the KJV don’t have as much trouble understanding it because it was a part of their language formation.


I’d also like to push back on some of the examples. There were two I especially had a hard time understanding, so I looked them up in my ESV:

• Job 15:26-27 (ESV):
  26 running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;
  27 because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist

This is a little hard to understand in the first place because it’s a sentence fragment. The boss of the buckler is what made me look this up in the ESV, only to find it in the ESV as well. The boss is the round metal part in the middle of a shield: technical knowledge I found on Wikipedia.

Verse 27 is also confusing, but not for reasons of language. In the ESV, I found exactly what I thought the KJV said, but didn’t have any clearer grasp of what it meant to cover his face and sides with fat. I imagined it might be a sort of anointing, but the context leads me to think it might be an expression of wealth (i.e. enough food to be fat). In any case, it’s the culture that’s confusing, not the language. (Including verse 27 in the example was also a little unfair to because it has little to do with verse 26 and is starting a new thought.)

• Ezekiel 13:18 (ESV):
  and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?

This is much easier to understand than the KJV, but it’s also different. I can’t read the original Hebrew text, but it seems to me that the ESV is engaging in some cultural interpretation for us. Unless the KJV left something out, the purpose of the pillows (magic) has been inserted by the ESV. That’s not wrong per se (I wouldn’t have understood the meaning otherwise), and you can debate translation philosophy. But let’s not blame the KJV’s language for what is actually the strangeness and alienness of the ancient near eastern culture of the Bible.

You mirror some of my thoughts as well. For me, and maybe it was by way of the Holy Spirit, and/or God seeing my desire to learn and be near to Him, He seemed to speak to me while reading the KJV that it wasn't really an issue. I would say the examples given to make it seem more difficult weren't really an issue as I was hungry enough to just want to hear from God. I will admit I had trust issues with some of the other translations and as you point out- at any rate, if whatever translation helps you draw near to God helps your walk, then perhaps we shouldn't be dogmatic about insisting one over the other-
Our church uses the ESV and I found 1 Corinthians 11 in the ESV to actually convey something different than KJV- in that according to ESV only 'married' women were to cover their heads-

4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife[c] who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.[d]

Perhaps if I had of not learned about the headcovering, I would have assumed this to be cultural and assumed that even 'back then' covering was for the wife-not women in general.

At any rate, I believe that God spoke to me through KJV and I didn't really consider it was that difficult- I won't dismiss that wasn't His grace doing that for me as well because it was my very first Bible (when i was 5) and it was the translation I learned from, even if some of those strange passages would have been perplexing, God was still speaking.

[PeterG]

As a teacher in a conservative Mennonite school, I work with young people who have grown up with the KJV. They have significant difficulties with it.

[Bootstrap]

I didn’t grow up with the KJV, though I often heard it read. When I encounter the KJV now, I don’t usually have trouble understanding it. Part of that might be that people tend to select familiar passages they can understand, but I suspect that children who do grow up hearing the KJV don’t have as much trouble understanding it because it was a part of their language formation.

I grew up with the KJV and memorized verses in the KJV until I was 13 or so. For some verses, it is still the first wording that comes to mind. It was familiar and comfortable, and I felt I understood it. When I ran into the RSV, the Good News Bible, and the Phillips Translation I found that there were things I thought I had understood but hadn't. I remember a sense of, "oh, is that what that verse means?" That's when I started comparing translations to each other. I still like the KJV, especially Alexander Scourby's readings (listen to him read Genesis here), but I don't think it is the only good translation, and I really do think it is harder for most people to understand accurately unless they study KJV English, compare to other translations, etc.

For me, there's also a "heart language" dynamic. When I learned Greek, I was struck by the fact that John writes mostly in language every 8-year-old would understand, language that is close to the heart, language that is close to my everyday experience. Jesus speaks simply to everyday people.

To me, KJV English has another virtue: it reminds us that our faith is old, that many have come before us, and it has a religious grandeur. It feels more formal, more educated, perhaps more authoritative. On the other hand, was Jesus really about religious grandeur? Can the KJV become an "old wineskin" that makes it harder for some to find the new wine? I first discovered new birth and discipleship in a community that used newer translations and shared very simply.