The KJV contains several additional translation errors beyond those already discussed, stemming from both textual limitations and the translators’ incomplete mastery of biblical languages.
Grammatical Misrenderings
The KJV characteristically employed “which” for “who,” as seen in Philippians 4:13 where it reads “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”[1] This creates confusion about the antecedent—whether Christ or “things” performs the strengthening. Similarly, the KJV uses “his” for “its,” rendering “salt has lost his savour” in Matthew 5:13[1], which personifies salt inappropriately. The plural form “cherubims” appears in Hebrews 9:5 instead of the correct Hebrew plural “cherubim.”[1]
Archaic Vocabulary Problems
Words that held different meanings in the seventeenth century create systematic confusion: “allege” was used for “prove,” “communicate” for “share,” “suffer” for “allow,” “allow” for “approve,” “let” for “hinder,” “prevent” for “precede,” and “conversation” for “conduct.”[1] These semantic shifts render passages obscure or misleading to modern readers who interpret the words according to contemporary definitions.
Underlying Textual Issues
The Greek text underlying the KJV was essentially medieval and contained accumulated scribal mistakes, though most variations were small in significance and did not materially affect the Bible’s message.[1] The translators lacked access to many valuable manuscripts now known, including the Vatican, Sinaitic, and Alexandrian Manuscripts, as well as early papyrus documents.[1] This textual poverty forced the translators to work with inferior source material, introducing errors that later revisions corrected through access to earlier, more reliable witnesses.
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