Thee, Thou, Thy, Thine -- Those Much-Made-Fun-Of, "Archaic," Words in King James Bible

I always try to say King James Bible, rather than Version, since it, and other older English bibles are translated from the Traditional Greek text, -- whereas modern bibles come from the Critical Greek Text.

This makes about 1000 words of difference in the New Testament.

But, to get back to my purpose at this web page --

THE REAL BIGGY concerning the PRONOUNS, thee and thou, etc., as I see it IS -

The corresponding pronouns ARE USED IN the ORIGINAL Greek and Hebrew texts.

THUS, WRONGFUL TRANSLATION RESULTS IF THESE "ARCHAIC" ENGLISH PRONOUNS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE TRANSLATOR'S USE.

THIS IS SIN - WRONGFULLY STATING GOD'S WORDS -- IS SIN!

IT ALSO MAKES FOR AMBIGUOUS RENDERING OF MANY BIBLE PASSAGES!

The King James Bible Page web site has a good article on this.

Just over ONE page, it is well worth reading!

The article, originally by Richard Bacon has the following pronoun chart:

                       NOM            OBJ             POSS

1st     singular       I               Me            My (or mine)
         plural         We              Us            Our (or ours)

2nd     singular     Thou            Thee        Thy (or thine)
          plural         Ye               You          Your (or yours)

3rd     singular He/She/It     Him/Her/It     His/Hers/Its
          plural       They            Them          Their (or theirs)

NOM=nominative = case of the subject
OBJ=objective = case of the object of the verb, indirect object of the verb or object of a preposition
POSS=possessive = case of possessing or sourcing.

I DO have to admit that I need to look at this chart once in a while to make sure I understand correct usages.

The author also lists a number of verses where lack of the "archaic" English pronouns makes a real difference.

Verses in modern versions become ambiguous without these important pronouns.

Here are several of the many examples Richard Bacon cites.

"In Luke 22:31, the NIV rightly explains in a footnote that the term "you" as used in that verse is plural.

But then it FAILS to mention that in verse 32, the word "you" is singular in Greek!

Of course, those who use the AV (KJB) have no difficulty discerning that even without footnotes!"

Luke 22 KJB:

³¹And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

³²But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

See the chart above, you, ye, thou, thy, etc.

Note that "you" is plural, "thee" is singular.

Luke 22 NIV:

³¹“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

See the chart above, you, ye, thou, thy, etc.

Note that "thou" and "thy" are singular, "you" and "ye" are plural.

Another of the many cases Bacon cites is in Exodus.

"Exodus 4:15, "THOU shalt speak ... I will be with THY mouth" referring to Moses himself.

But then "and will teach YOU what YE shall do" refers to the entire nation of Israel."

Exodus 4:15 KJB:

¹⁵And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

Exodus 4:15 NIV:

¹⁵You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.

Again the one page article is worth reading at the King James Bible Page.

To become a Christian see my pages They Came to Jesus, and Jesus Gets a Visitor in the Night.
Also see my page on the Resurrection.

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