The language

Understanding KJV language

The King James Version was translated in 1611, and some of its English has changed meaning since. The good news: the patterns are few, and once you learn them, the language opens up — and its precision becomes a gift.

Thee / thou: "You" (singular). The KJV distinguishes one person from many.
Ye / you: "You" (plural) — addressed to a group, not an individual.
-eth / -est: Verb endings: "loveth" = loves, "thou lovest" = you love.
Suffer: To allow or permit — "Suffer the little children to come unto me."
Conversation: Conduct or way of life, not talking (Philippians 1:27).
Charity: Love — especially self-giving love (1 Corinthians 13).
Prevent: To go before, not to stop (1 Thessalonians 4:15).
Quick / quicken: Alive / to make alive — "the quick and the dead."
Meat: Food in general, not only flesh.
Let: Sometimes means to hinder (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
Wist / wot: Knew / know — "he wist not" means "he did not know."
Verily: Truly, certainly — Jesus' signal that what follows matters.

A helpful habit: read the KJV aloud. Its rhythm was made for the ear, and many "hard" sentences become plain when spoken. And when a word still puzzles you, comparing the verse in a second translation is not cheating — it's study.