Misinterpretation in KJV

The King James Version contains several categories of misinterpretation rooted in linguistic and textual limitations of the 1611 translation.

The KJV rests on an inadequate textual base, particularly for the New Testament, relying on a medieval text containing accumulated scribal errors. Specific translation errors include Mark 6:20, where the KJV says Herod “observed” John the Baptist when it should say he “kept him safe,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:22, rendered as “abstain from all appearance of evil” rather than the more accurate “abstain from every form of evil.”

Mark 6:20: “Observed” vs. “Kept Safe”

Mark 6:20 (King James Version)

"For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."

The KJV rendering of Mark 6:20 claims Herod “observed” John the Baptist[1], but this translation fundamentally misrepresents the original meaning. The Greek verb in this passage conveys protective action rather than mere observation. The accurate sense is that Herod “kept him safe”[1]—actively shielding John from harm. More specifically, Herod “preserved” or “shielded him from” Herodias’s malignity[2], the wife who sought John’s death. The KJV’s choice of “observed” creates a passive, detached impression when the text actually describes Herod’s deliberate intervention to protect the imprisoned prophet. This error stems from the translators’ struggle with Greek vocabulary in the seventeenth century, when such linguistic precision was less systematically developed.

1 Thessalonians 5:22: “Appearance” vs. “Form”

1 Thessalonians 5:22 (King James Version)

"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

The KJV renders 1 Thessalonians 5:22 as “abstain from all appearance of evil,” when a more correct rendering would be “abstain from every form of evil.”[1] The distinction matters significantly for interpretation. The word translated “appearance” properly means what presents itself to the eye—form or figure—but does not mean semblance without reality, though the English translation suggests avoiding what bears the aspect of evil though it be not really evil[2]. 

The KJV’s phrasing implies Paul instructs believers to avoid even things that look evil but aren’t actually evil—a principle about perception and reputation. However, the contrast is not between what is really good and what is evil only in appearance[2]. Paul’s actual instruction concerns rejecting evil in its various manifestations, not managing appearances. This mistranslation has shaped centuries of Christian ethics teaching, encouraging believers to prioritize how actions appear to others rather than focusing on substantive moral avoidance of wrongdoing itself.

Both errors illustrate how the medieval Greek text underlying the KJV contained accumulated scribal mistakes[1], combined with the translators’ incomplete mastery of biblical languages.

[1] Neil R. Lightfoot, How We Got the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2003), 186–188.

[2] John Eadie, The English Bible: An External and Critical History of the Various English Translations of Scripture, with Remarks on the Need of Revising the English New Testament (London: Macmillan and Co., 1876), 223–224.