WORD ORDER IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE

1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

According to the scriptures, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. God is not the author of chaos, but of order. Several scriptures show how orderly God is in all things.

One example is that God commanded Moses to set in order the things that were to be set upon the table of the tabernacle:

Exodus 40:1-4, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.”

According to the scriptures, God ORDERS the steps of a good man. Again, God is a God of order.

Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”

Finally, Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, commanded all things to be done in order.

1 Corinthians 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

Why is all of this important? Because God is orderly and consistent, and therefore it follows that his word would be orderly and consistent as well. The King James Bible maintains a consistent word order, making it predictable, orderly, and continuous (a state of continuity). This helps with the memorization of scripture, which is needed in our lives to resist the devil and his devices:

Psalm 119:9-16, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”

According to “The Literary Guide To The Bible”, a book published by Harvard University, the pattern repetition of words, the word order, the way one clause links to another, and other things in the King James Bible, actually help the reader to learn to read the scriptures.

“Through its transparency the reader of the Authorized [King James Bible] not only sees the original but learns how to read it. Patterns of repetition, the way one clause is linked to another, the effect of unexpected inversions of word order, the readiness of biblical writers to vary tone and register from the highly formal to the scatological, and the different kinds and uses of imagery are all, like so much else, open to any reader of the Renaissance versions, and best open to them in the Authorized Version.” -Robert Alter, “The Literary Guide To The Bible”, pp. 664-665

Now let us see some examples of the consistent words and word order in the King James Bible. Note that all books of the Bible were all written by God, but he used different men to write them, and in different times.

1. 2 Kings 20:1 and Isaiah 38:1

2 Kings 20:1, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.”

Isaiah 38:1, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”

2. Psalm 79:6-7 and Jeremiah 10:25

Psalm 79:6-7, “Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.”

Jeremiah 10:25, “Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.”

3. Jeremiah 10:12-16 and Jeremiah 51:15-19

Jeremiah 10:12-16, “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.”

Jeremiah 51:15-19, “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.”

Now we are going to look at four scriptures that maintain similar a word order that have been changed in the modern perversions, thus destroying the continuity and ability of memorization. We will compare the scriptures in the King James Bible to those of the New International Version (NIV) and the New King James Version (NKJV).

The word “dispensation” is found four times in the King James Bible, and three times maintains a consistent word order (1. dispensation… 2. of… 3. God (in one scripture “the fulness of the times” is used)… 4. is given/committed… 5. to me/unto me…) The continuity should become apparent.

1 Corinthians 9:17, “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Ephesians 3:2, “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:”

Colossians 1:25, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”

Because the modern perversions scramble the word order and use a variety of complex words, the continuity of Paul declaring his duty to preach the gospel of Christ is destroyed, as well as the ability to memorize the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 9:17 (NIV), “If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.”

Ephesians 3:2 (NIV), “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,”

Colossians 1:25 (NIV), “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—“

Even the New King James Version (NKJV), claimed to be the “modern update” of the King James Bible, commits this same error:

1 Corinthians 9:17 (NKJV), “For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”

Ephesians 3:2 (NKJV), “if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,”

Colossians 1:25 (NKJV), “of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,”

By reason of darkness, the modern perversions CANNOT order their speech. They use more difficult words, and sometimes LONGER words, in order to obtain a copyright according to the derivative copyright law. In other words, it is NOT about making the Bible “easier to read” or “understand”, but about turning a profit!

2 Corinthians 2:17, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”

1 Timothy 6:3-10, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”