Old Words in the King James Bible

English has changed since 1611. Some words in the King James Version have dropped out of use, and others now mean something different: to “suffer” children to come is to let them come. This guide gives the meaning each word carried then, with a verse to see it in place. On any verse page, the old words it uses are explained beneath the text.

Words you'll meet everywhere

thee, thou, thy, thine — you, your (to one person): These are the singular forms: thou and thee for “you,” thy and thine for “your.” Ye and you address more than one.
ye — you (to more than one): Ye is plural, like “you all.”
hath, doth — has, does: The -th ending is the old form of -s: hath is has, doth is does.
-eth and -est — the old verb endings: Loveth means loves, and lovest means you love (said to one person).
unto — to: Unto is a fuller form of to.
verily — truly: Jesus’ “Verily, verily” means “Truly, truly.”
wherefore — therefore; or why: Wherefore can mean for this reason or ask why.
hither, thither, whither — here, there, where (to): They mark direction: to here, to there, to where.
shew, spake — show, spoke: Older spellings and past tenses of familiar verbs.

Words that changed, A to Z

abide — stay, remain, live: To abide is to stay put: to remain with someone or to dwell somewhere.
“Abide with us: for it is toward evening” Luke 24:29
anon — at once, straight away: It means immediately, not “later” as it can sound today.
“anon with joy receiveth it” Matthew 13:20
bewray — give away, reveal: To bewray is to betray a secret without meaning to.
“thy speech bewrayeth thee” Matthew 26:73
bowels — deep feelings, heartfelt compassion: Where we would say “heart,” the KJV often says bowels, the seat of tender feeling.
“how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:8
careful — anxious, full of worry: Being careful here means being weighed down with cares, not being cautious.
“Be careful for nothing” Philippians 4:6
carriage — baggage, what is carried: A carriage is the luggage itself, not a vehicle.
“we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem” Acts 21:15
charity — love: In the KJV charity is love that acts for another's good, not only giving to the poor.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three” 1 Corinthians 13:13
communicate — share, give: To communicate is often to share what you have with others.
“to do good and to communicate forget not” Hebrews 13:16
conversation — way of life, conduct: In the KJV conversation almost always means how a person lives, not what they say.
“let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ” Philippians 1:27
corn — grain, such as wheat or barley: Corn means grain in general: wheat, barley and the like.
“he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day” Mark 2:23
ere — before: Ere is simply an older word for before.
“Sir, come down ere my child die” John 4:49
firmament — the sky, the expanse above: The firmament is the great expanse God spreads out above the earth.
“Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters” Genesis 1:6
froward — stubborn, twisted, contrary: Froward describes someone who turns away from what is right.
“Put away from thee a froward mouth” Proverbs 4:24
ghost — spirit, breath of life: “Holy Ghost” means Holy Spirit, and to give up the ghost is to die.
“yielded up the ghost” Matthew 27:50
halt — lame; or to limp, to waver: The halt are people who cannot walk well.
“bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” Luke 14:21
holpen — helped: Holpen is an old past tense of help.
“He hath holpen his servant Israel” Luke 1:54
husbandman — farmer, one who tends the land: A husbandman works the soil or a vineyard.
“my Father is the husbandman” John 15:1
instant — urgent, persistent: To be instant in prayer is to keep at it earnestly.
“continuing instant in prayer” Romans 12:12
jot — the smallest letter, the smallest mark: A jot and a tittle are the tiniest parts of written Hebrew: not the smallest detail will be lost.
“one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law” Matthew 5:18
kine — cows, cattle: Kine is an old plural of cow.
“seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed” Genesis 41:2
leasing — lies, falsehood: Leasing has nothing to do with renting; it means lying.
“Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing” Psalms 5:6
letteth — holds back, hinders: Let once meant hinder, the opposite of its usual meaning today; it lingers in phrases like “without let or hindrance.”
“only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” 2 Thessalonians 2:7
mammon — money, wealth: Mammon is wealth treated as a master.
“Ye cannot serve God and mammon” Matthew 6:24
meat — food of any kind: Meat in the KJV usually means food in general, not only flesh.
“My meat is to do the will of him that sent me” John 4:34
naughty — bad, worthless: Naughty once meant good for nothing, far stronger than its playful sense today.
“the other basket had very naughty figs” Jeremiah 24:2
outlandish — foreign: Outlandish simply means from another land.
“even him did outlandish women cause to sin” Nehemiah 13:26
peradventure — perhaps, maybe: Peradventure is an old word for perhaps.
“or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked” 1 Kings 18:27
prevent — go before, come ahead of: To prevent once meant to arrive first, not to stop something.
“I prevented the dawning of the morning” Psalms 119:147
publican — tax collector: Publicans collected taxes and were often grouped with “sinners” by their neighbors.
“the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican” Luke 18:10
quick — living, alive: The quick are the living; “quick and the dead” means the living and the dead.
“who shall judge the quick and the dead” 2 Timothy 4:1
quicken — bring to life, revive: To quicken is to make alive.
“quicken thou me according to thy word” Psalms 119:25
reins — the inner self, deepest thoughts: The reins are literally the kidneys, used for a person's hidden thoughts and motives.
“the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins” Psalms 7:9
scrip — a small traveling bag: A scrip is a pouch for food on a journey.
“Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes” Luke 10:4
selah — a pause or musical mark (meaning uncertain): Selah appears in the Psalms, likely a direction for music or a pause to reflect; no one is sure.
“There is no help for him in God. Selah.” Psalms 3:2
silly — simple, easily misled: Silly once meant naive or defenseless rather than foolish.
“lead captive silly women laden with sins” 2 Timothy 3:6
sometimes — once, at one time: Sometimes often means formerly: “you who were once far off.”
“ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh” Ephesians 2:13
sore — greatly, very (as in "sore afraid"): Before a feeling, sore means intensely; elsewhere it can mean a wound.
“they fell on their face, and were sore afraid” Matthew 17:6
strait — narrow, tight: Strait means narrow, not straight.
“strait is the gate, and narrow is the way” Matthew 7:14
straightway — immediately: Straightway means at once.
“they straightway left their nets, and followed him” Matthew 4:20
suffer — often: allow, permit: Suffer often means let or allow; elsewhere it still means to undergo pain.
“Suffer the little children to come unto me” Mark 10:14
tarry — stay, wait: To tarry is to stay a while or wait.
“tarry ye here, and watch with me” Matthew 26:38
trow — think, suppose: Trow means to believe or suppose.
“I trow not” Luke 17:9
twain — two: Twain is an old word for two.
“go with him twain” Matthew 5:41
wist — knew: Wist is an old past tense of know.
“Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone” Exodus 34:29
wont — in the habit of, accustomed: To be wont to do something is to do it regularly.
“the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner” Matthew 27:15
wot — know: Wot is an old present tense of know.
“my master wotteth not what is with me in the house” Genesis 39:8