You have been told that the King James Bible uses archaic language. 2011 is the 400th anniversary if the King James Holy Bible. Contrary to what you might have been told, it is not written in Old English (Eald Englisc), like Chaucer, or even Elizabethan (Olde) English, like Shakespeare. It is written in Classic English and has had the strongest, and most positive, effect on modern English of any literary work. It is the cornerstone of our language today. If there is a word in this book that you don’t know, then it is a word worth learning.
One of the secondary objectives of The Job Project is to teach some of the archaic words. This is greatly helped by the poetic language used in portions of the history. This is a different type of poetry, since there is not rhyme, alliteration, or meter. It is a poetry of meaning. A phrase is used, followed by another phrase with essentially the same meaning. This sort of poetry translates exceptionally well, especially into the English language. It also helps in learning vocabulary. “In other words” is the common phrase we use today to separate, yet tie together, a restatement. In writing, we may use “i.e.” as the link. The Bible doesn’t use these link words, but the repetition makes it far more likely that you will understand at least one of the statements in the pair, which will help you understand the other one, even if it has an unfamiliar word.
You won’t mind learning a few vocabulary words, since it will increase your intelligence. In addition to the poetry, we will also incorporate a couple of key words in the story so the meaning is obvious.
This 8-minute video, with Sam Gipp, is the best short introduction, we know of, explaining why the King James Bible is superior for those of us who speak English. They have a series of videos, but this first one is, by far, our favourite.
Want to hear more?
“If there is a word in this book that you don’t know, then it is a word worth learning.” Wow, that statement speaks loudly to me. Often if we don’t understand a word in the Bible, we skip it and keep going so we can do our daily reading. I do try and understand most of the vocabulary in the KJB, but now I’m even more convicted to do so! Thank you for that statement!
You are quite welcome! Glory to God and His Word!