50 Archaic Bible Words Every Latter-day Saint Should Know

Every English speaker who reads the King James Bible encounters words that look familiar but mean something entirely different from what they appear to mean today. These are not rare, obscure terms buried in genealogies -- they are common words that appear hundreds of times across the standard works, and misunderstanding them leads directly to misunderstanding the doctrine. What follows is a working vocabulary of the most important archaic words in Latter-day Saint scripture, grouped by how dramatically their meanings have shifted.

The most dangerous category is words that now mean the opposite of what they meant in 1611. "Let" could mean "to hinder" or "to restrain," as in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: "He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." Paul is saying something is restraining evil, not permitting it. "Prevent" meant "to go before" or "to precede," from the Latin praevenire. When 1 Thessalonians 4:15 says, "We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep," it means we will not precede the dead -- not that we will stop them. "By and by" meant "immediately," not "eventually." When Jesus says the seed on stony ground springs up "by and by" in Matthew 13:21, He means it springs up at once, which is precisely the problem -- shallow roots and instant growth that cannot last.

The next category is words whose meanings have narrowed or shifted sideways. "Conversation" in KJV English meant "behavior" or "way of life," not spoken dialogue. When Peter writes, "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles" (1 Peter 2:12), he is talking about conduct, not chat. "Meat" meant "food" in general, not specifically animal flesh. "He gave them meat in due season" (Psalm 145:15) refers to all sustenance. "Peculiar" meant "belonging exclusively to," from the Latin peculium (private property). When Exodus 19:5 calls Israel "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people," God is saying Israel is His own special possession -- not that they are strange. "Carriage" meant "baggage" or "that which is carried." When Acts 21:15 says, "We took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem," it means they packed their bags, not that they boarded a vehicle.

Several words have weakened in force over the centuries. "Naughty" in KJV English meant "wicked" or "worthless," not mischievous. Jeremiah 24:2 describes figs that were "so naughty they could not be eaten" -- they were rotten and corrupt, not playfully misbehaving. "Cunning" meant "skillful" or "knowledgeable," without the modern connotation of deceit. David was "cunning in playing" the harp (1 Samuel 16:18) -- he was skilled, not sneaky. "Ouches" were settings for gemstones in the priestly garments (Exodus 28:11). "Taches" were clasps or fasteners for the tabernacle curtains (Exodus 26:6). "Pottage" was a thick stew, as in Esau's infamous trade of his birthright for a bowl of lentil pottage in Genesis 25:34.

Words related to the body and to daily life have shifted substantially. "Bowels" referred to the seat of deep emotion -- compassion, mercy, tenderness -- not the intestines. When the Lord says His "bowels are filled with mercy" (Mosiah 15:9), He is expressing the deepest possible compassion. "Reins" referred to the kidneys, understood as the seat of the inner character and secret thoughts. "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins" (Jeremiah 17:10) means God examines both the emotions and the hidden character. "Quicken" meant "to make alive," from the Old English cwic (living). "Quicken me according to thy word" (Psalm 119:25) is a plea for God to restore life. "Wist" meant "knew," and "wot" meant "know." When Exodus 34:29 says Moses "wist not that the skin of his face shone," it means he did not know his face was radiant.

Words that appear in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon deserve special attention because Latter-day Saints encounter them twice as often. "Whoredoms" in scripture usually refers to idolatry and spiritual unfaithfulness, not exclusively to sexual sin. The Book of Mormon uses this word frequently (Jacob 2:23-28) to describe turning away from God to false worship. "Stiffnecked" appears throughout both texts and comes from the agricultural image of an ox that refuses to turn when the driver pulls the yoke -- it means stubbornly resistant to divine direction. "Dross" is the impurity skimmed off molten metal, used metaphorically for sin and worthlessness (Isaiah 1:22, Alma 34:29). Understanding these words as the original authors intended them does not require a degree in linguistics. It requires a willingness to slow down, look up what you do not know, and let the text say what it actually says rather than what you assume it says.

The KJV Word Guide and Word Explorer make this process practical. Rather than flipping through a dictionary every time you encounter an unfamiliar word, you can look up any term and immediately see its 1611 meaning alongside every occurrence in the standard works. Over time, these words stop being obstacles and become old friends -- and the scriptures open up in ways that no modern paraphrase can replicate. As Nephi wrote, the scriptures were given "that we might know of the surety of the things whereof we have been assured" (Alma 5:46, echoing the spirit of Nephi's own testimony in 2 Nephi 33:1-4). Knowing the words is the first step toward knowing the message.