Words Leaving The English Language In Bible Translations

Yet who in its place sounds so plebeian. :Wink

 

The bulk of any society is plebian. I'd feel like I would be putting on airs to bandy 'whom' around.

 

Yes, sometimes it’s hard to know whether to use “me and him” for the subject or “he and I” as the object when trying to fit in.

As for me, it’s not worth the worry. People will imagine what they will, and it will have to remain their problem, not become mine.

Let each murder the language in his own way, and those who dare, play Grammar Nazi. It’s the latter who often prove most fun. :Wink

 

Robycop had mentioned the word unto. I looked at the usage of that word in 13 English translations. Most of them used that word in the 3 digit range --from 212 times to 853 times.

However, these translations used unto the least :
NIV : 96
NET : 94
WEB : 54
NCV : 39
CSB : 18

 

Old words do not pass away, they just leave the Bible translations. :(

 

The number of times that the word upon occurs in given translations :

CSB : 18
WEB : 54
NET : 94
NIV : 96
ISV : 212
NLT : 218
EHV : 286
CEB : 336
NASB : 477
LEB : 555
NKJV : 575
ESV : 656
NRSV : 853
KJV : 2,293

 

Moreover

NLT : 2
CSB : 8
EHV : 8
NIV : 35
ISV : 40
LEB : 49
CEB : 51
NET : 55
ESV : 76
NRSV : 96
NASB : 120
NKJV : 144
WEB : 149
KJV : 170

 

Perish

NLT : 18
ISV : 65
NET : 87
CEB : 96
CSB : 116
NIV : 120
EHV : 128
LEB : 153
KJV : 153
WEB : 154
NASB : 156
NKJV : 157
ESV : 161
NRSV : 216

 

Surely

NASB : 43 (surprisingly the 95 edition had it 329 times)
CSB : 66
CEB : 131
ISV : 139
EHV : 141
NLT : 169
ESV : 198
NET : 221
NRSV : 235
LEB : 261
KJV : 278
WEB : 288
NIV : 300 (surprisingly high. The NIrV had it only 41 times))
NKJV : 366 (88 more times than the KJV!)

 

I have reviewed eleven words and their frequency in various Bible versions. These words are a bit out-of-date :
Surely, perish, moreover, upon, unto, midst, sought, behold, shall, whom and thereby.

The translations that use the least number of these words are in first place : the NLT. Second place is awarded to the NIV and third place honors goes to the CSB. The NET and CEB are also rans.

 

Woe

NLT : 0
CEB : 0
NCV : 0
NIrV : 0
ISV : 30

 

The word before us now is May. According to JJ "May is passe." (4/30/2020)

I'll confine myself to the New Testament. I chose 15 translations.

Six translations use the word over 300 times. The LEB uses it 337 times. The ESV, NRSV, NABRE and NKJV uses it more. The WEB led the pack at 365.

Most of the translations use the word in the 200 plus range. Four translations use it exactly 271 times : ISV, KJV, NET and NIV. The NASB uses it 277 times and MOUNCE uses it the most at 292 times. The CSB uses it 258 times.

The NLT uses it 117 times.

And the version which uses it the least is the CEB at 84 times.

So the NASB stands at the midpoint. The mean is 281.5 and the NASB stands at 277.

Does the NLT and CEB portend the future frequency of this word? It may.

 

Hasten, hastens, hastening

How many times does any form of the word 'hasten' occur in ten translations?

NLT, EHV, NASB : 1
Mounce, CSB, ISV : 2
WEB : 3
NIV : 4
NET : 6
CEB : 7

It's rapidly departing from usage.

 

That's the nature of languages. Things do not remain static. It's a God thing.

 

Alas

How often does it occur in eleven versions?

NASB : 0
ISV : 0
CEB : 0
CSB : 0
NLT : 4
NET : 12
WEB : 14
LEB : 15
KJV : 16
NKJV : 18
NIV : 18

 

Cry

Certainly this is a commonly used word. Typically it means to shed tears along with grieving out loud. But older Bible versions also use it to mean shouting with a loud voice. John the Baptist was crying in the wilderness for example. However, JTB wasn't weeping, rather, he was raising his voice. He was being stentorian.

I looked at 13 versions.

The KJV uses the word 204 times. But four other versions use it even more. Let's review the versions that use the word the least.

NASB : 167
NLT : 172
LEB : 174
NIV : 181
NET : 188
WEB : 188
CSB : 192
NKJV : 193

The NIV is right in the middle.

 

Vain

I have looked at 15 versions. The KJV leads the pack using this word 104 times.

Following are eight versions that use vain the least.

NLT/11
EHV/14
ISV/18
CEB/18
CSB/22
NET/24
NASB/31
NIV/35

 

Vanity

Now we move from the adjective form to the noun form.

I have used 15 versions.

The KJV uses the word 79 times. Six versions use vanity with a frequency between 29 to 45 times.

Here is the breakdown of versions that went against the grain.

NLT/0
NIV/0
NASB/0
EHV/0
CEB/0
CSB/0
NET/1
ISV/2

It's safe to say that the word vanity has become archaic. The meaning is still retained with words such as futility and emptiness.

 

Beloved

How often does this word occur in 13 versions?

CEB/0
CSB/14
NLT/26
NIV/29
ISV/40
LEB/64
NET/71

NASB/103
KJV,ESV/106
WEB/110
NKJV/116
NRSV/119

I think it's fair to say that this particular word id vanishing from modern Bible translations.