NON-KJVO - What I like about the KJV.

I think the KJV term, brethren, normally translated as "brothers" or "brothers and sisters" in MV's, is a far superior word choice. It is warm, inclusive, and less awkward than these other choices.

I also like the thy's and thou's. I don't know what's so hard about them and why they are so hated.

Andy

 

1 John 5:7

HankD

 

In case my rather violent opposition to the KJVO position has confused anyone.

I have used the KJV all my life, and still use it. It is the only version I have loaded on my palm pilot which I use at church to take notes, and cut and paste the verses in.

I use multiple versions for study, but I do use the KJV for most purposes.

I have no problem with the language of the KJV since I am used to it, and It is the version that I have memorized quite a bit in, so I use it because of its familiarity.

 

I prefer the KJV over ALL other versions. I own one of nearly every "MV" but they all generally gather dust on my shelves!

The language is reverent and timeless.

 

"Lo" and "behold"-of course not exclusively KJV terms only.

 

I like that there are so many tools for it.

 

Are you aware of the conflict between Tyndale and Sir Thomas More over Tyndale's decision to use "love" rather than "charity" in his translation? Tyndale was also attacked for using "congregation" instead of "church," "senior" instead of "priest," and "repentance" instead of "penance."

Lot's of good information about this on the web, for example:

http://tinyurl.com/6tgmv

Andy

<edited only to shorten link name>

[ August 05, 2004, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: C4K ]

 

If there were no KJV there would be no NASB to improve upon it.

 

I completely agree, C4K.

One thing I do like about the KJV is the use of thou/thee and ye/you, but not for the "majestic" feel. I simply enjoy being able to differentiate between the singular and plural second person pronouns without having to dig through the footnotes. This is one of the aspects of Elizabethan English that I wish we had kept for contemporary English!

 

Everything that you guys posted except for the "charity" part.

Plus, familiarity. As someone else put it, I think in KJV words and phrases. I almost always do text searches in the KJV for this reason although I generally compare with other versions.

BTW, I am a lifelong KJV user also.

 

As a lover of Spakespearean literature, I love the way the KJV reads. Many of the words that the KJV and its predecessors use have made it into our Christian lexicon. The phrase "Lord", for example, while not the most accurate translation in today's use, has become synomymous with the reference to God in the OT, and Jesus in the NT.

 

Please let us have one thread to talk about what we like.

The point was, the KJV was a seminal translation: if you like, the head of a distinguished family which has produced some fine offspring. Including, but not limited to, the NASB, RSV, and ESV.

 

Sorry. That's what I get for trying to be punchy.

 

I like the KJV for memorizing and for brief quotes. I find it easier to memorize verses in KJV.

But I would rather read and study from an MV. I get board and distracted if I spend more than half an hour reading the KJV.

On Christmas Eve I always read Luke 2 to my family in the KJV, from our big family Bible. It is about the only time that Bible gets used! In fact at Christmas time I am "Luke 2 KJVO", because “Taxed” sounds better than “census” or “counted” or “registered.”

 

The KJV, in the spoken form, is a delightful sound. Once one "gets in the rhythm" while reading, the words flow effortlessly off the tongue.

I had a similar experience as Eaglewing. In last years Church Christmas play, I had to recite parts of the "Christmas Story" from Matthew and Luke. The script had the verses from the NKJV. I kept stumbling over the words (they weren't -that- difficult). I made a "cheat-sheet" for the script and inserted the verses from the KJV. "Lo and behold" the words came easier! I figure my mind was simply reverting back to the time, in about the 3rd grade, when I memorized the same verses from the KJV for a school Christmas play. Sadly, kids in public school today won't get this opportunity!

Familiar verses in the KJV are a joy to read. Un-familiar verses, on the other hand, are not particularly hard to read, but are hard to understand! If I am to understand them I must slow waaaayyyyy down while reading and use study aids (notes, dictionarys, MV's, etc). This is not necessarily a bad thing. One is forced to focus on the text and the meaning. It is pretty interesting to contemplate how the English language has evolved while struggling with the syntax and some of the archaic words; why they were used and how they have changed over the years.

This takes me back to when I was taking Elizabethan English in college - Praise the Lord for "Cliff Notes" or I would never have made it through "Paradise Lost"!

 

When I was in college I thought all Brit Lit was written by Cliff.

After I got saved, I found out who John Bunyan was. I read the "Pilgrams Progress" every year part I in odd numberd years and part II in the even ones. I've done this since 1999. I start in January and finish in the last part of march or early April. Except the first time
I read part I, I finished it in a week in '99 before I got married. But I will only readeth it in the 17th century Elizabethan English!