How to read the KJV Bible: tips and a glossary of 59 archaic words
How to read the KJV Bible with confidence: thee vs ye, -eth and -est endings, and 59 archaic words like "let" and "prevent" with real KJV verses.
In this article
- Why the KJV can be hard to read
- Thee, thou, ye and you: the most useful rule
- Verb endings: -eth, -est and friends
- False friends: words that changed meaning
- Old words you won't hear today
- Two more things printed KJV Bibles do
- 8 tips for reading the KJV every day
- Is the KJV a good translation to read?
- Reading the KJV in Bible Academy
- Frequently asked questions
To read the KJV Bible well, learn three patterns and a short word list. "Thee" and "thou" mean one person, "ye" and "you" mean more than one; "-eth" and "-est" are old verb endings ("he maketh," "thou knowest"); and some familiar words changed meaning, like "let" (hinder) and "prevent" (go before). Read aloud, start with familiar passages, and compare hard verses with a second translation.
The King James Version was first published in 1611, and most KJV Bibles printed today follow a 1769 revision of its spelling and punctuation. That's why it sounds the way it does: the vocabulary and grammar are early modern English, the language of Shakespeare's era.
The good news: you don't need to learn a new language. A few dozen words and patterns cover most of what trips readers up. This guide gives you those patterns, a glossary of 59 archaic words with a real KJV verse for each, and practical tips for reading it every day.
Why the KJV can be hard to read
It isn't only that the words are old. Three things combine:
- Grammar. The KJV keeps pronouns and verb endings modern English has dropped, like "thou art," "ye shall," "hath," "doth."
- False friends. Some words look familiar but meant something different in 1611. These cause more misunderstandings than the obviously old words.
- Long sentences. The KJV follows the original languages closely, so sentences often run long and many begin with "And." Paul's letters are especially full of long, linked sentences.
The KJV also has strengths that explain why many people love it. Its title page said it was "appointed to be read in churches," and its rhythm works beautifully read aloud. It's also the wording behind many phrases English speakers still use, from "the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13) to "a law unto themselves" (Romans 2:14).
If you'd like a reading plan built around the KJV, with a short quiz after each reading, the app has one.
Thee, thou, ye and you: the most useful rule
Modern English uses "you" for one person and for a crowd. The KJV doesn't. It keeps the distinction.
| Word | Number | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| thou | singular | subject ("you" doing the action) | "thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4) |
| thee | singular | object ("you" receiving the action) | "I said unto thee" (John 3:7) |
| thy / thine | singular | possessive ("your," "yours") | "thy rod and thy staff" (Psalm 23:4) |
| ye | plural | subject ("you all") | "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7) |
| you | plural | object ("you all") | "I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) |
| your | plural | possessive | "your Father" (Mark 11:25) |
Here's why it matters. In John 3, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, one man, at night. Look at the pronouns:
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
"I said unto thee" is singular: Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. "Ye must be born again" is plural: the requirement isn't only for Nicodemus but for everyone. Modern translations that use "you" twice can't show this difference without a footnote. The KJV shows it in the word itself.
"Thine" (and "mine") is used before a vowel sound, so you'll see "thine eyes" and "thine heart" but "thy word."
Verb endings: -eth, -est and friends
Old verb endings look strange but are completely regular:
| Pattern | Means | KJV example | Modern |
|---|---|---|---|
| -eth (he, she, it) | 3rd person singular | "He maketh me to lie down" (Psalm 23:2) | he makes |
| -est (thou) | 2nd person singular | "thou knowest all things" (John 21:17) | you know |
| hath / hast | has / have (thou) | "the Son of man hath power" (Mark 2:10) | has |
| doth / dost | does / do (thou) | "doth already work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7) | does |
| art / wast / wert | are / were (thou) | "thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4) | you are |
| shalt / wilt | shall / will (thou) | "Thou shalt have no other gods" (Exodus 20:3) | you shall |
Once your eye gets used to these, you'll stop noticing them. A good test: read Psalm 23 aloud three times. By the third time, "maketh" and "leadeth" sound normal.
False friends: words that changed meaning
These are the words that actually change the meaning of a verse if you read them in modern English. Learn these first.
| KJV word | Meant in 1611 | Example verse | ASV (1901) has |
|---|---|---|---|
| let | hinder, hold back | "but was let hitherto" (Romans 1:13) | "was hindered" |
| prevent | go before, come first | "shall not prevent them which are asleep" (1 Thessalonians 4:15) | "shall in no wise precede" |
| conversation | conduct, way of life | "let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel" (Philippians 1:27) | "manner of life" |
| conversation | citizenship (in this verse) | "our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20) | "citizenship" |
| careful | anxious, worried | "Be careful for nothing" (Philippians 4:6) | "In nothing be anxious" |
| suffer | allow, permit | "Suffer the little children" (Mark 10:14) | same wording |
| quick | living, alive | "judge the quick and the dead" (2 Timothy 4:1) | "the living and the dead" |
| charity | love (self-giving love) | "Charity suffereth long" (1 Corinthians 13:4) | "Love suffereth long" |
| meat | food in general | "to you it shall be for meat" (Genesis 1:29) | "for food" |
| corn | grain (wheat, barley) | "the corn fields" (Mark 2:23) | "the grainfields" |
| by and by | at once, right now | "give me by and by in a charger" (Mark 6:25) | "forthwith ... on a platter" |
| room | place, seat | "sit not down in the highest room" (Luke 14:8) | "the chief seat" |
| carriage | baggage | "David left his carriage" (1 Samuel 17:22) | "his baggage" |
| communicate | share with others | "to do good and to communicate forget not" (Hebrews 13:16) | same wording |
| nephews | grandchildren, descendants | "children or nephews" (1 Timothy 5:4) | "grandchildren" |
| ghost | spirit | "yielded up the ghost" (Matthew 27:50) | "yielded up his spirit" |
| sore | very, greatly | "they were sore afraid" (Luke 2:9) | same wording |
| cunning | skill | "let my right hand forget her cunning" (Psalm 137:5) | "her skill" |
| outlandish | foreign | "outlandish women" (Nehemiah 13:26) | "foreign women" |
| strait | narrow, tight | "strait is the gate" (Matthew 7:14) | "narrow is the gate" |
Take Philippians 4:6. In modern English, "be careful for nothing" sounds like "be reckless." In 1611 it meant the opposite of worry:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And 1 Thessalonians 4:15 is a classic case. "Prevent" sounds like "stop," but Paul means the living won't go ahead of those who have died:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Old words you won't hear today
These words aren't misleading, just unfamiliar. Once you know them, they're easy.
| KJV word | Meaning | Example verse |
|---|---|---|
| wist | knew | "wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49) |
| wot | know | "I wot not who hath done this thing" (Genesis 21:26) |
| trow | think, suppose | "I trow not" (Luke 17:9) |
| anon | immediately | "anon they tell him of her" (Mark 1:30) |
| straightway | immediately | "straightway they forsook their nets" (Mark 1:18) |
| howbeit | however | "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come" (John 16:13) |
| peradventure | perhaps | "Peradventure there be fifty righteous" (Genesis 18:24) |
| haply | perhaps, by chance | "if haply he might find any thing thereon" (Mark 11:13) |
| verily | truly | "Verily, verily, I say unto thee" (John 3:3) |
| an hungred | hungry | "he was afterward an hungred" (Matthew 4:2) |
| fain | gladly | "he would fain have filled his belly" (Luke 15:16) |
| holpen | helped | "He hath holpen his servant Israel" (Luke 1:54) |
| sith | since | "sith thou hast not hated blood" (Ezekiel 35:6) |
| dureth | lasts, endures | "dureth for a while" (Matthew 13:21) |
| leasing | lying, falsehood | "seek after leasing" (Psalm 4:2) |
| bewray | give away, reveal | "thy speech bewrayeth thee" (Matthew 26:73) |
| divers | various | "divers diseases" (Mark 1:34) |
| froward | perverse, crooked | "the froward is abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 3:32) |
| shambles | meat market | "sold in the shambles" (1 Corinthians 10:25) |
| husbandman | farmer, vinedresser | "my Father is the husbandman" (John 15:1) |
| kine | cows | "seven well favoured kine" (Genesis 41:2) |
| mete | measure out | "with what measure ye mete" (Matthew 7:2) |
| privily | privately, secretly | "to put her away privily" (Matthew 1:19) |
| raiment | clothing | "the body than raiment" (Matthew 6:25) |
| twain | two | "go with him twain" (Matthew 5:41) |
| victuals | food supplies | "all their victuals" (Genesis 14:11) |
| wax / waxed | grow, grew | "waxed strong in spirit" (Luke 2:40) |
| whit | bit, part | "every whit whole" (John 7:23) |
| ought (aught) | anything | "if ye have ought against any" (Mark 11:25) |
| publican | tax collector | "the other a publican" (Luke 18:10) |
| tarry | stay, wait | "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem" (Luke 24:49) |
| emerods | tumors | "smote them with emerods" (1 Samuel 5:6) |
| chambering | sexual immorality | "not in chambering and wantonness" (Romans 13:13) |
| quit you | conduct yourselves | "quit you like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13) |
| ensample | example | "being ensamples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3) |
| usury | interest on a loan | "neither shalt thou lay upon him usury" (Exodus 22:25) |
| gainsay | contradict, oppose | "shall not be able to gainsay nor resist" (Luke 21:15) |
| wherefore | why (or therefore) | "wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matthew 14:31) |
| asunder | apart | "let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6) |
| Selah | uncertain; often explained as a musical pause | "There is no help for him in God. Selah." (Psalm 3:2) |
Counting both tables, that's 59 words in 60 rows (conversation appears twice because it has two senses). Every example above was checked against the KJV text in our app.
Two more things printed KJV Bibles do
Small capitals for LORD. Most printed KJV Bibles write "LORD" in small capitals when the Hebrew text has God's personal name (often written YHWH), and "Lord" when it has the Hebrew word for "master." Digital texts don't always keep the small capitals, so it's worth knowing. The ASV of 1901 handles this differently: it writes "Jehovah" where the KJV has "LORD." In Psalm 23:1, for example, the ASV reads "Jehovah is my shepherd."
Italic words. In many printed KJV editions, italic words are not emphasis. They mark words the translators added to make the English read smoothly, words with no direct equivalent in the original. Don't read them as stressed.
8 tips for reading the KJV every day
- Start with passages you already half-know. Psalm 23, Luke 2, John 1, Matthew 5 to 7. Familiar content lets you focus on the language. Our book of Psalms summary and the birth of Jesus are good starting points.
- Read aloud. The KJV was written to be heard. Rhythm and punctuation make more sense out loud, and you'll naturally slow down.
- Learn the false friends first. The 19 words in the false-friends table cause more confusion than all the rest combined.
- Read whole paragraphs, not single verses. A long KJV sentence often spans several verses. Reading to the end of the thought fixes most confusion.
- Compare with a second translation. When a verse won't come clear, read it in the ASV or a modern translation. Our KJV vs ASV comparison shows how the two differ verse by verse.
- Keep a personal word list. When you hit an unfamiliar word, write it with its verse. You'll see the same few words come back again and again.
- Use book introductions. Knowing who wrote a book, to whom and why matters as much as vocabulary. Our guide on how to understand the Bible covers this.
- Check what you understood. A quick quiz after reading shows whether you followed the meaning or just the sound. Try three questions on the Psalms:
Quick quiz: Psalms
Which word opens the first psalm?
The book opens with “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.” “Why” opens Psalm 2. Psalms 1:1
Which psalm begins with “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”?
It is Psalm 23, a psalm of David: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1
Which psalm begins with “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name”?
Psalm 103, by David, opens this way and urges us not to forget “all his benefits.” Psalms 103:1–2
There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.
Is the KJV a good translation to read?
The KJV is a careful, formal translation that many Christians have read for more than four centuries, and it remains widely loved and widely used. Christians hold different views on translations. Some prefer the KJV for its history, its manuscript basis and its literary beauty. Others prefer a modern translation for readability or because they favor older manuscripts discovered after 1611. Both groups agree on the main point: the best translation is the one you'll actually read and understand.
Many readers use two: the KJV for reading and memorizing, and a second translation to check hard passages. If you're new to the Bible altogether, our guide on how to read the Bible for beginners has a gentle start, and if you're shopping for tools, see our roundup of the best KJV Bible apps.
Reading the KJV in Bible Academy
Bible Academy's Bible reader includes the King James Version and the American Standard Version of 1901, both offline, with highlights and notes. That makes the "compare with a second translation" tip easy: read in the KJV and switch to the ASV when a word stops you.
The reading plan lets you read the whole Bible (66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,102 verses in the KJV) at 1 to 5 chapters a day, with a calendar, a streak and a short quiz after each reading. If you want a concrete plan, our guide to reading the Bible in a year shows the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between thee, thou and ye in the KJV?
"Thou" and "thee" are singular: they mean "you" when speaking to one person ("thou" is the subject, "thee" the object). "Ye" and "you" are plural, like "you all" ("ye" is the subject, "you" the object). In John 3:7, Jesus says to Nicodemus, "I said unto thee, Ye must be born again": "thee" is Nicodemus, while "ye" includes everyone.
What does -eth mean in the Bible?
The "-eth" ending is an old form of the modern "-s" for he, she or it. "He maketh me to lie down" (Psalm 23:2) means "he makes me lie down," and "leadeth" means "leads." The matching "-est" ending goes with "thou," as in "thou knowest" (John 21:17), meaning "you know." These endings never change the meaning of the verb.
What does "let" mean in the KJV?
In 1611, "let" could mean "hinder" or "hold back," the opposite of its usual modern meaning. In Romans 1:13, Paul says he planned to visit Rome "but was let hitherto," meaning he had been prevented until then. The American Standard Version (1901) translates it "was hindered." You still see this old sense in the tennis term "let."
What does "conversation" mean in the King James Bible?
In the KJV, "conversation" usually means conduct or way of life, not talking. Philippians 1:27, "let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ," means "live in a way worthy of the gospel." In Philippians 3:20, "our conversation is in heaven," it translates a Greek word closer to "citizenship," which is how the ASV renders it.
Is the KJV hard to read for beginners?
It's harder at first than a modern translation, but most of the difficulty comes from a short list of pronouns, verb endings and words that changed meaning. Learn those, read familiar passages like Psalm 23 aloud, and compare tough verses with a second translation. After a few weeks of daily reading, most readers find the KJV much easier.