The King James Bible (1611) is one of the most influential books in the world. Many words are archaic and have not been used since the first printing of the work. Although many English-speaking readers and English language school (ELS) students have trouble understanding the words and their meanings, most evangelical Christians still read the KJV.
One of the most fundamental problems in reading the KJV is the words “you” and “you.” They both mean “you” when used as a subject, but the difference between “you” is singular and “vosotros” is plural.
YOU: “You” is used throughout the Bible. It is the singular subject meaning “you”. Some examples come from the 10 Commandments:
You shall not steal – You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15). You shall not kill.- You shall not kill (Exodus 20:13). You shall not commit adultery.- You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Or…you shall eat grass of the field;…you shall eat grass of the field (Genesis 3:18).
There are a lot of “You must” (You will) and “You must not” (You will not or You will not) because God was morally instructing people how to act. So, get used to reading “You must”. In the past tense, tú is used with the verb + “th”: “Tú” is almost always used in the present tense with the medieval form of a verb like: You are, you speak, you do, you go, you see, you drink you say
But, in the past tense, tú is used with the verb + “st”: Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him: What have you done to us? And how have I offended you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not be done. And Abimelech said to Abraham: What did you see that you did this? (Genesis 20:9-10)
Thou is used with possessive adjectives: thy (your) or yours; and direct and indirect objects: you (to you): And the daughter of Pharaoh said to him: Take this child, and nurse me, and I will give you your wages. (Exodus 2:9)
But with you I will establish my covenant; and you shall enter the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. (Genesis 6:18.)
YE: This means “you” in the plural form. Follow the modern forms of verbs, possessive adjectives, and direct and indirect objects. Verbs also follow most current verb forms.
“Behold now I have two daughters who have not known a man; I beg you to take them away from you, and do with them as you see fit; only that you do nothing to these men; under the shadow of my roof” (Genesis 19:8).
“And marry us, and give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves. And you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade in it, and obtain possessions in it.” (Genesis 34:9-10)
Whenever Jesus speaks to his disciples, to his multitude of followers, or to the Pharisees, he always tells them: “You”: You are the salt of the earth… (Matthew 5:13) or You are the light of the world. .(Matthew 5:14). But seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness; (Matthew 6:33)
Remember for now that “tú” represents the singular “tú” and “th” is present in all forms, including: tú, tu, tu, tú + verb endings. The plural “usted”, or “ye” in all its forms begins with a “y”: ye, your, you.
Further explanations of the difficulties of reading this work will be discussed in “Understanding the King James Bible, Part 2”.
No Comment