One recurring complaint against the King James Bible is that is contains many archaic words. That is something of a misnomer. While many of these accused words may not be commonly spoken today, they are not “archaic” in the sense usually intended – no longer in use, obsolete or outmoded. They could be considered archaic in its definition “surviving chiefly in specialized uses.” These archaic words could be considered “in specialized use,” but they are certainly and definitely used on a regular basis in English-speaking churches around the world where the King James Bible is read, studied and preached.
A companion complaint to so-called archaic words is the presence of words whose meanings have changed. Daniel B. Wallace claims “300 words found in the KJV no longer bear the same meaning.” This is again something of a misnomer. Rather than the word no longer bearing the meaning used in the KJV, more likely is that its most common modern use is no longer the meaning most commonly used in the KJV. Wallace gives as examples “suffer” (permit) and “study” (be diligent). The meaning in the KJV may not be the first meaning moderns think of when they hear the word. However, my Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary supports the changed meanings. Suffer means “to allow” (# 4) and study means “endeavor/try” (# 3) – substantially the same definitions that Wallace claims have “changed”. My modern dictionary even tells me that “prevent” means to “arrive before” or “go before” (Cf. I Thess. 4:15).
Words that do not mean what we expect them to mean cause us difficulty in reading and understanding the Bible. I do not ignore that. I have experienced that. On the other hand, part of being diligent in studying the word of God is to study words and their meaning. This is true whether it is words in a Bible first printed in 1611 or a Bible that has just been translated and recently made available to the readers. It is not hard to look up an old word in a good dictionary. All words we do not understand need to be looked up in some dictionary!
It is true that the King James Bible contains words not used frequently in everyday speech or that are not often used in the way the KJV uses them. It is not true that these must keep one from understanding the Bible. Rather than frighten the reader who wants to be a KJV reader towards a modern translation, a better option is to direct them toward the help they need.