KJV words that changed meaning: 16 familiar words modern readers misread

Many ordinary words in the King James Version meant something different in 1611. In verses like the ones below, prevent means go before, suffer means allow, conversation means way of life, and careful means anxious. Because these words still look familiar, it's easy to read today's meaning into a verse without noticing.

Bible scholar Mark Ward calls them false friends in his 2018 book Authorized (excerpt). An obviously old word like wist (knew) sends you to a dictionary. A false friend doesn't, because you think you already know it. Almost none of this is a translation mistake. These were normal English meanings in 1611, and the language has moved on.

Here are 16 of them, each with its verse, what the word meant then, and what it means now.

16 KJV words that changed meaning at a glance

• Prevent: go before, not stop (1 Thessalonians 4:15)
• Let: hinder, not allow (Romans 1:13)
• By and by: at once, not eventually (Mark 6:25)
• Quick: alive, not fast (Acts 10:42)
• Study: be diligent, not read books (2 Timothy 2:15)
• Suffer: allow, not feel pain (Matthew 19:14)
• Careful: anxious, not cautious (Philippians 4:6)
• Conversation: way of life, not talk (Philippians 1:27)
• Charity: love, not giving to the needy (1 Corinthians 13:4)
• Communicate: share, not talk (Hebrews 13:16)
• Peculiar: God's own possession, not odd (1 Peter 2:9)
• Meat: food, not animal flesh (Genesis 1:29)
• Corn: grain, not maize (Mark 2:23)
• Halt: lame, not stop (Matthew 18:8)
• Conies: rock hyraxes, not rabbits (Proverbs 30:26)
• Carriage: baggage, not a coach (Acts 21:15)

What each word meant in 1611

Prevent means go before

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.

Today prevent means stop. In 1611 it still carried its Latin sense of coming before (Etymonline), and Paul's Greek verb means to precede (Strong's 5348). Paul is comforting grieving believers: those still alive when Christ returns will not go ahead of those who have died. The same sense explains Psalm 119:147, where the psalmist gets up before dawn to pray.

Let means hinder

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

We use let to mean allow, but an older verb spelled the same way meant hinder, from Old English lettan (Etymonline). Paul had often planned to visit Rome but had been held back until now. The word appears twice in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, about someone who is restraining lawlessness for now. Christians have long disagreed about who that restrainer is, and the verse doesn't say.

By and by means at once

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.

Now by and by means eventually. In all four places the KJV uses it, it means immediately, a sense that is now obsolete (Wiktionary). The Greek word here means at once (Strong's 1824). Herodias's daughter wanted John the Baptist's head right away. In Luke 21:9, Jesus says the end will not come by and by, meaning not immediately.

Quick means alive

And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Quick first meant living; the sense of fast grew out of it (Etymonline). Peter tells the household of Cornelius that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Older English versions of the Apostles' Creed use the same words, the quick and the dead, where newer ones say the living and the dead (Wikipedia). When Hebrews 4:12 calls the word of God quick, it means living, and being quickened in Ephesians 2:5 means being made alive.

Study means be diligent

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It's easy to read this as advice to hit the books. Study first meant strive or devote yourself, from the Latin for be diligent (Etymonline), and the Greek verb here means make every effort (Strong's 4704). That's why modern translations say do your best or be diligent. Shew is show, and rightly dividing means handling correctly. The KJV uses study the same way in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, though Ecclesiastes 12:12 already uses it for book learning.

Suffer means allow

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus isn't asking for children to suffer. Suffer here means allow, a sense English has had since the Middle Ages (Etymonline). The disciples had scolded the people bringing children to him (verse 13), and Jesus overruled them: let them come, and don't stop them.

Careful means anxious

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Be careful for nothing sounds like permission to be careless. In 1611 careful could mean attentive, as it does today, but it could also mean full of care, that is, worried or anxious (Etymonline). Paul's Greek verb here means be anxious (Strong's 3309), so he means: don't be anxious about anything, pray about everything. The same verb is behind Martha being careful and troubled in Luke 10:41, and behind take no thought in Matthew 6:25, so Jesus is warning against worry there, not against planning. If worry keeps you up, see our Bible verses for anxiety at night.

Conversation means way of life

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Conversation meant your manner of life for centuries; the sense of talk appeared in the 1570s and later took over (Etymonline). Paul's verb means to live as a citizen (Strong's 4176). He's asking the Philippians to live in a way worthy of the gospel, not only to watch their words. In Philippians 3:20, a related Greek noun for citizenship is also rendered conversation.

Charity means love

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Today charity usually means giving to people in need, or an organization that does. Here it translates the Greek agapē, love, the same word the KJV renders love in 1 John 4:8. Charity comes from the Latin caritas, and the Revised Version of 1881 replaced it with love (Etymonline). Verse 3 shows the difference: a person could give everything to feed the poor and still lack charity. Suffereth long means is patient, and vaunteth not itself means doesn't brag.

Communicate means share

But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Communicate comes from the Latin for to make common, to share (Etymonline). The Greek word here is koinōnia, sharing or fellowship (Strong's 2842). The verse is about sharing what you have, not talking. The KJV uses communicate the same way in 1 Timothy 6:18, where the rich are told to be ready to distribute and willing to share (more in what 1 Timothy 6:10 says about money).

Peculiar means God's own possession

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

A peculiar people sounds like odd people. The older sense was belonging to one owner, from the Latin peculium, private property (Etymonline). Peter's Greek means a people for God's own possession (Strong's 4047). Deuteronomy 14:2 says the same of Israel, and Titus 2:14 of the church.

Meat means food

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

God gives plants for meat, which only puzzles us because meat now means animal flesh. In older English it meant food of any kind (Etymonline). When Jesus asks whether life is more than meat (Matthew 6:25), he means food, and the meat offering of Leviticus 2 is made of fine flour.

Corn means grain

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

American readers picture cornstalks, but in England corn meant grain, usually the main crop of a region, such as wheat. In America the word narrowed to maize, first called Indian corn (Etymonline). Maize is native to the Americas and wasn't grown in first-century Galilee. The disciples were picking heads of grain, which is why modern translations say grainfields.

Halt means lame

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

This halt is an old adjective meaning lame. The halt that means stop is a different word, a German military command that reached English through French or Italian in the 1590s (Etymonline). In the same verse, offend means cause you to stumble into sin (Strong's 4624), not hurt your feelings. Jesus is using hyperbole: the picture of entering life lame or maimed shows how seriously to take sin, and it is not a command to harm yourself. The halt in Luke 14:21 and John 5:3 are people who couldn't walk well.

Conies are rock hyraxes

The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

In 1611 a coney was a rabbit, but the Hebrew word shaphan names a rock badger (Etymonline): the rock hyrax, a small furry animal of Africa and the Middle East (Wikipedia). Hyraxes don't live in Europe, so the translators used the nearest animal English readers knew. That makes conies the exception on this list, a translation choice rather than a word that shifted. Rabbits dig burrows in soil, but hyraxes live among boulders, which is why Proverbs gives the conies houses in the rocks and Psalm 104:18 gives them the rocks as a refuge. Proverbs 30:24 counts them among four small creatures that are wise: though weak, they find safety in the rock. Modern translations say rock badgers or hyraxes.

Carriage means baggage

And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

Paul and his companions weren't loading a coach. Carriage once meant what you carry, your baggage (Wiktionary), and the Greek says they packed up for the journey (Strong's 643). In 1 Samuel 17:22, David leaves his carriage with the keeper of the supplies before running to his brothers.

How to understand old KJV words yourself

1. Notice when a familiar word makes a sentence strange or harsh. That's usually the clue.
2. Compare a modern translation. A parallel page such as Bible Hub's Philippians 4:6 lines up many versions.
3. Look up the Greek or Hebrew word with a Strong's concordance.
4. Check a dictionary that gives word histories. The Oxford English Dictionary is the fullest; Etymonline is free.
5. Read the verses around it. Context settled most of the words above.

BibleGPT draws on the King James Version for its English answers (see how BibleGPT answers), so you may meet these words there too. It can explain an old word quickly, but AI can get a word history wrong, so check the answer against a lexicon. Our guide to using ChatGPT for Bible study covers how to ask well, and Did AI make up that Bible verse? shows how to check a quote.

Should you keep reading the KJV?

Christians answer this differently. Many love the King James for its beauty and its long place in church life, and some churches use it alone. Others find that false friends like these hide the meaning and prefer a modern translation. Plenty read both, keeping a modern version open beside the KJV for study. Any of these can work if you read slowly and look up what surprises you.

If you're deciding where to begin, our guide to which book of the Bible to read first can help.