- What about the Thees and Thous?
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- By Dr. Ken Matto
The chief lame excuse that Christians give for not using the King James
Bible is the language. They feel that the King James Bible is outdated and
that for better understanding in the 21st century, it is imperative that a
person buy a modern version with modern language to be able to better
understand the text. Here are three examples from the NIV:
Exodus 35:22
(NIV) All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold
jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments.
They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD.
(KJB) And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted,
and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets,
all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold
unto the LORD.
As you can see in this one example, the King James uses the word “bracelet”
and the NIV uses the word “brooch.” A bracelet is worn around the wrist
while a brooch is worn at the neck by means of being pinned to the garment.
Now I have no idea what a bracelet is because that word is too hard for me
to understand but I definitely knew what a brooch was, especially after I
looked it up in a dictionary. The word “bracelet” is a fifteenth century
word. The word “brooch” is a thirteenth century word. So who is using
archaic language? The NIV uses a word which is 800 years old. The King James
Bible translators used a word which was 100 years old at the time and is
still in wide usage today. How many woman wear a bracelet today? The word
“brooch” was a forerunner of the modern word “broach.” So why then did they
not use the updated word instead of the 13th century original? Let us look
at another example.
Isaiah 16:6
(NIV) We have heard of Moab's pride-her overweening pride and
conceit, her pride and her insolence-but her boasts are empty.
(KJV) We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud:
even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall
not be so.
Look at the NIV, Moab is a her but in the Masoretic Text which underlies the
KJB, the words are masculine, so “he” would be the proper translation. With
that aside, what is “overweening?” The word is a 14th century word and means
“presumptuous or exaggerated.” In the KJB, the word “very” is also a 14th
century word, but it is in wide usage today. How many times have you used
the word “overweening” instead of “very?” Let’s create a sentence:
He is a very prideful person!
He is an overweening prideful person?
Which one of these statements would cause you to go to your dictionary? The
word “overweening” is 700 years old and is extremely archaic. I never heard
this word until the NIV came out. The KJB uses the word “very” which was
only about 100 years old when the translators used it. In other words, they
had access to these old words but chose not to use them. Oh okay, let’s look
at one more.
Luke 23:9
(NIV) He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no
answer.
(KJB) Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him
nothing.
The word “ply” is a 14th century word. It means “to use or wield in a
diligent manner.” So here we see that Herod was questioning the Lord Jesus
Christ. The NIV uses a word which is 700 years old while the KJB uses a
simple sentence to let us know that Herod questioned Jesus with many words.
Again, which version is using archaic language?
Section Summary
As you can plainly see, once again the Christian has been sold a bill of
goods by those who despise the King James Bible in favor of the Roman
Catholic/Gnostic modern versions. The cry is that we cannot understand those
old words, yet we saw in the NIV that even more archaic words are used. The
reason for this is that new and uncommon words are needed to obtain
copyrights with each new edition coming out. The King James uses words which
are still in use today. We have the 1769, 4th edition of the King James
Bible which is a language update only. So the argument that the King James
Bible cannot be understood because of its language is out the window.
Another invalid point that Christians make is that the language is too hard
and they are unable to understand the sentences. This argument is also a
washout and we will prove it. By stating that understanding is hindered by
the language is to state that it is impossible for people to continue
learning.
Medical Doctor
The language of medicine in our day is a language all its own. Can one say
that the language and techniques are not learned? There are hundreds of
procedures and drugs that a doctor must know which means they must learn
them. Then someone comes along and says that a few words in the King James
Bible hinders understanding. Try reading a medical book and see if those
words hinder understanding to the medical doctor.
Dentist
I am one that has had a double root canal done at the same time. Now did the
Dentist learn how to do that or was he born with the knowledge? He had to
learn those techniques and the principles of dentistry before he could drill
and fill a simple cavity. Then someone comes along and says that a few words
in the King James Bible hinders understanding.
Airplane Pilot
Have you ever seen the inside of a cockpit in a large aircraft like a 757?
You mean the pilot was born with the knowledge and did not have to learn it?
Before the pilot leaves the ground, he or she must know and understand their
craft. Then someone comes along and says that a few words in the King James
Bible hinders understanding.
Stock Broker
Have you ever read the peculiar jargon of the stock broker? Such as puts,
price earnings ratio, junk bonds, NASDAQ, OTC, etc. You mean these people
were born with this knowledge and they didn’t have to learn it? Then someone
comes along and says that a few words in the King James Bible hinders
understanding.
Computers
How could we leave out our friend which we are looking at right now. Lets
take a trip back in time, say 25 years. What was a mouse back then? It was a
rodent but today it is a necessary computer peripheral. Did you ever use the
term hyperlink, spyware, megabyte, tower unit? In the old days A Drive meant
we took the family for a drive with the car but today it is a drive on a
computer for a floppy disk? (psst remember the old B drives and the 5 ¼ inch
floppies?) Five years ago what did burn a CD mean? It wasn’t around yet so
we had to learn it. 25 years ago where was your MP3 player or your DVD
player? Years ago windows were something we looked out of, now it is a
computer operating system. You see we had to learn an entirely new language
to run our computers. Isn’t it interesting that 5 and 10 year old children
can run and even program computers? Then someone comes along and says that a
few words in the King James Bible hinders understanding.
Amateur Radio
One of the best hobbies is Amateur Radio. Since the hobby is one of
electronics, it is imperative that before one goes on the air they must
obtain a license by passing a Morse code test and an electronic theory test.
Today’s Amateur Radio tests require a 5 word per minute code test. Now the
Morse code is a language all by itself as you must learn all 26 letters, the
numbers 0-9 plus punctuation. According to QRZ.com, as of November 21, 2004,
there are 675,274 Ham Radio operators in the United States, which means
every one of them had to learn the Morse Code plus we had to learn such
terms as E, F1, F2, D propagation, line of sight propagation, watts,
standing wave ratio, wavelengths, DX, inductance, resistance, capacitance,
antenna theory, etc. To obtain an Amateur radio license you literally have
to learn a new electronic language. Then someone comes along and says that a
few words in the King James Bible hinders understanding.
- The Thees and Thous and their Importance
Let us look at the importance of why the thees and thous are important to understanding the Bible:
Thy, Thee, Thou, and Thine were used for second person Singular
Ye, You, Your, and Yours are Plural and correspond to the Singular words.
Thy (singular) Ye (plural) - Thee (singular) You (plural) - Thou (singular) Your (plural) - Thine (singular) Yours (plural)
- When Jesus speaks to one person, He uses Thee or Thou - When He speaks to a group of people, He uses Ye or You
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Summary
In this section I have included four professions in which people are
required to learn a new language so they will be able to function properly
within those professions. I have also included a hobby which also has a
language all by itself plus I have included the world of computers which
everyone reading this will have had to learn before they can even access
this article. Isn’t it something when you first started using computers, you
were afraid you would do something wrong and cause all the data to be lost
or corrupted. Now you sign on and navigate the computer like the back of
your hand. Why? Because you have determined to learn the computer so you can
use it as a part of your daily life. 25 years ago, how many did their
personal budgets on a computer? 25 years ago we went shopping at a store or
ordered through their catalog by mail or phone, today we can order items on
line. This means that it is extremely possible for people to learn those few
old words in the King James Bible and as you continue to run across them,
you will be familiar with them and there will be no further hindrance.
Now I am not saying that there are no words in the King James Bible which
need to be looked up. The King James translators used biblical language when
translating the Bible because they wanted the Word of God to be different
from the common English of the day. The King James Bible was not written in
the vernacular of the early 17th century. If you read the preface to the
King James Bible, you will see a markedly different style. Today’s modern
versions read like a novel making no distinction between the street language
and the language of the words of God. At least the King James Bible
translators placed added words in italics, so you would know they were added
for clarity. The modern versions are mostly paraphrases and you have no idea
what is man’s word and God’s Word, this is why they copyright them. You
cannot copyright the words of God but you can copyright the words of man.
God’s word is written in such a manner that it requires us to study it
diligently as the Berean Christians did.
(Acts 17:10-11 KJV) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by
night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
{11} These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so. Please keep in mind
this very important principle.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS INSTANT UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE BECAUSE OF A
SUPPOSED UPDATE IN LANGUAGE!
The biblical principle for understanding Scripture is comparing Scripture
with Scripture. (1 Cor 2:13 KJV) Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
We must sit down and study God’s Word to be able to understand it. Keep in
mind that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us any understanding in
Scripture which means it has nothing to do with modernization of language.
The reason so many Christians are weak in the faith is because they think
they are receiving instant understanding of the Bible because they have a
modern version. This is a deception which has been fostered on the Christian
community by the publishers. One must ponder the following question: Why
were there so many revivals and times of major spiritual growth under the
teaching of the King James in the history of the church and why is there so
much apostasy in the modern church under the teachings of the modern
versions?
So what about those thees and thous? They both point to you. This article
was written for thee and thou should consider it.
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