The King James Version (KJV) was translated into English in 1611 A.D. at the request of King James of England. Therefore, it is also known as the Authorized Version. As you would expect, many words which were common then are either not in general use today, or have taken on a variation in meaning. When you are not sure what a word means, check it out in a standard Dictionary and/or in a Dictionary of Bible words.

Besides unusual words, grammatic structure and word endings may seem odd to the modern reader. Today, languages such as German, Spanish, and French retain structures which are absent from modern English. Word forms & endings may vary depending on word usage (eg., verb tense), gender (male or female), and number (singular or plural). Modern English also has word variations. For example note the following variations in the verb "to be" in modern english:

     Present tense       Past tense         Past perfect
       I am                I was              I have been
       You are             You were           You have been
       He is               He was             He has been
       We are              We were            We have been
       You (pl.) are       You (pl.) were     You (pl.) have been  (pl. = plural)
       They are            They were          They have been

Here are the same variations of the verb "to be" in KJV english:

     Present tense       Past tense         Past perfect
       I am                I was              I have been
       Thou art            Thou wert*         Thou hast been
       He is               He was             He hath been
       We are              We were            We have been
       You (ye) are        You (ye) were      You (ye) have been
       They are            They were          They have been     
           *Sometimes: "wast" or "wert".

Notice that "thou" is the singular form of "you," while "you" or "ye" indicates plurality.

Observing the use of 'thee / thou' versus 'you / ye' can help with understanding the text. For example:

• In Ex 4:15, 'Thou' and 'thy' refer to Moses, while 'you' and 'ye' refer to Moses, Aaron and the congregation together.
• In Joh 3:7, 'Thee' refers to Nicodemus who received the message as an individual, while 'Ye' refers to everyone. The need for new birth applies to all people and every person, not just Nicodemus.

Notice also the variation in the verb "to have" in the above example.

Notice also that "thou" takes various forms depending on its grammatical usage:

• Thou- as sentence subject: "Thou art the man."
• Thee- as sentence object: "The book belongs to thee."
• Thy- possessive form (as an adjective): "Thy book is wonderful."
• Thine- possessive form (as object or recipient of the possession):
  "The wonderful book is thine." (or) "Thine is the glory."

See, there really is no reason to stumble over the "thee's and thou's". But what about the "-eth's"? In the KJV english, some verbs have suffixes (endings) which vary depending on word usage. For example:

  The verb "to say"-
     Present tense       Past tense          Past perfect
       I say               I said              I have said
       Thou sayest         Thou saidst         Thou hast said
       He saith*           He said             He hath said
       We say              We said             We have said
       You (ye) say        You said            You have said
       They say            They said           They have said
          *Saith- pronounce as "seth" or "say-eth".
 
  The verb "to do"-
     Present tense       Past tense          Past perfect
       I do                I did               I have done
       Thou doest*         Thou didst          Thou hast done
       He doeth**          He did              He hath done
       We do               We did              We have done
       You (ye) do         You did             You have done
       They do             They did            They have done
          *Sometimes: dost (pronounce as "dust"), or
                      doest (pronounce as "doo-est").
         **Sometimes: doth (pronounce as "duth"), or 
                      doeth (pronounce as "doo-eth").

I hope you see that the structure of KJV English is really not so mysterious. In fact, it is not really so different from the modern language which we use everyday. As you become familiar with them, you may find that the additional word forms and endings may actually enhance the meaning of a passage, by giving you grammatic clues for connecting the various pieces of a passage.

For Definitions of more than 500 archaic words used in the KJV Bible, see The King James Bible Companion. (Also accessed via the Glossary button on the button bar.)