Comparing
To Modern Versions
By: Karen Schreiner
How is the English of 1611
different from the way we
speak now?
David Crystal Interview
General Information about the KJV
• The King James, or Authorized Version of the Bible
– Role of King James
• 1611
• Translated from Greek
• Claimed it to be written in the “language of the people,” but
actually written in a very poetic, archaic manner
– vocab, morphology, and syntax of the Middle Ages used to
sound dignified; sanctified by tradition
• Expanded upon in David Crystal interview
Effects of the KJV
• Profound effect on English literature - authors such as Melville,
Wordsworth, and Milton
» Paradise Lost, anyone???
• English style/language
» John Hayes Gardiner of Harvard University once stated that “In all study of
English literature, if there be any one axiom which may be accepted without
question, it is that the ultimate standard of English prose style is set by the
King James version of the Bible."
• Brought a new standard of English to everyday people
• Question posed to David Crystal: “What part did the King James
Bible play in creating Standard English?”
According to Crystal…
•
“The Bible doesn't have much influence on the grammar of the language, but
when you come to vocabulary…that's where it shows its influence most. I think
the King James Bible did something that nobody else had done, or nothing
else had done in the history of the language previously. Not even Shakespeare
had managed to do as much, in this respect, as the Bible did, and that is
increase the idiomatic range of the language…If we talk about 'the salt of the
earth' for instance, a classic piece of Biblical phrasing which is now widely
used. 'The signs of the times', 'a den of thieves' 'oh ye of little faith'…What has
happened is that the original Biblical reference in modern English is now
lost…What has happened now is that the phrase[s] have come to be used with
reference to non-Biblical contexts and that's what I mean when I say a Biblical
phrase has entered the language and become very generally used. Now there
are hundreds of these idiomatic, semi-idiomatic expressions in modern
English that have achieved their fame solely because of the King James Bible,
and no other text in the history of the English language has done as much as
the Bible to shape our modern idiom, and that's its claim to linguistic fame.”
– David Crystal
Taking a Closer Look…
Genesis 4: 1-12, KJV
•
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have
gotten a man from the LORD. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a
keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came
to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And
Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD
had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had
not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said
unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest
well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And
unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with
Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up
against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is
Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said,
What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to
receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not
henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth.
Genesis 4:1-12
New International Version
•
1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She
said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth
to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of
time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel
brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with
favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with
favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to
Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will
you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;
it desires to have you, but you must master it." 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel,
"Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother
Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I
don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 The LORD said, "What have
you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you
are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive
your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer
yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
Differences in Vocabulary and
Word Choice
according to the OED
KJV
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
NIV
“knew”
“unto
“respect”
“wroth”
“countenance”
“fallen”
“slew”
“her” (in reference to the earth and the
ground)
“henceforth”
“fugitive and vagabond”
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
“lay”
“to”
“favor”
“angry”
“face”
“downcast”
“killed”
“its” (in reference to the earth and the
ground)
n/a
“restless wanderer”
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
-Present in both
-One of the idiom’s mentioned by Crystal
Grammatical and Inflectional
Differences
• thou, thy, thee
» Second person pronouns of Middle English - an
example of the KJV reaching backwards for an
archaic sound, as these pronouns were already
being replaced with our modern ones
• doest, tillest, shalt, hast, art
» Past tense verb inflectional differences
• lieth, crieth, hath
» Present tense verb inflections
Syntax
Syntax of KJV almost identical to Modern English, but slight
variances are present
•
•
“keeper of sheep” vs. “kept flocks”
“4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” vs. “4 But Abel
brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.”
– KJV: Use of more prepositional phrases, complicating the structure of the sentence
»
•
•
•
What would happen if WE wrote a sentence with those 3 prep. phrases in a paper??
“Abel his brother” vs. “his brother Abel”
“I know not” vs. “I don’t know”
“it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength” vs. “it will no longer yield its crops for you.”
– Continued use of archaisms in KVJ; NIV simplifies using straightforward language
•
“a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” vs. “You will be a restless wanderer on the
earth.”
– Use of passive voice in KJV; subject “thou” is buried
*
Other than minor cases of syntax inversion as an attempt to sound archaic and
poetic, the syntax of Early Modern English is extremely similar to the syntax that we
are familiar with today
Works Cited
•
•
•
•
http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/king-james-bible/features/interview-with-david-crystal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Bible
http://www.biblegateway.com
Oxford English Dictionary