Archaic Words in the NIV

Archaic words are not limited to the King James Version. Not only do modern versions often retain the supposedly archaic words found in the AV, but many times a more formidable word is used to correct a perfectly understandable word or phrase in the AV. This appendix gives those places in the NIV where a simple word or phrase in the AV is replaced by a more difficult word, and those instances where an archaic or somewhat arduous word in the AV is replaced by an equally archaic or even more onerous word. This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

 

NIV BIBLE VERSE AV
jeered 2 Ki 2:23mocked
joists 2 Chr 34:11couplings
jowls Deut 18:3cheeks
kingship 1 Sam 10:16kingdom
lifeboat Acts 27:30boat
magi Matt 2:1wise men
mainstay Jer 49:25chief
marauders Job 12:6robbers
marshaled Job 32:14directed
mattocks 1 Sam 13:20courter
maxiums Job 13:12remembrances
melodious Ps 81:2pleasant
memorandum Ezra 6:2record
mina Lk 19:16pound
misdemeanor Acts 18:14wrong
naive Rom 16:18simple
nationality Est 2:10people
naught Is 40:23nothing
Negev Gen 12:9south
Nephilim Gen 6:4giants
nightfall 2 Sam 19:7night
noonday 2 Sam 4:5noon
Nubians Dan 11:43Ethiopians
nuggets Job 22:24gold
nurtured Lam 4:5brought
oarsmen Ezek 27:26rowers
oblivion Ps 88:12forgetfulness
obscenity Eph 5:4filthiness
offal Ex 29:14dung
officiate 2 Ki 17:32sacrificed
opportune Mk 6:1convenient
ore Job 28:2stone
overawed Ps 49:16afraid
overweening Is 16:6very
parapet Deut 22:8battlement
piled Lk 23:9questioned
pinions Deut 32:11wings
porphyry Est 1:6red
portent Is 20:3wonder
portico 1 Ki 6:3porch
poultice 2 Ki 20:7lump
Praetorium Matt 27:27common hall
prefects Dan 3:3governors
proconsul Acts 13:8deputy
profligate Deut 21:20glutton
promiscuity Ezek 16:26whoredoms
NIV BIBLE VERSE AV
qualmJude 12fear
rabble Num 11:4mixed multitude
ramparts Hab 2: 11tower
rawboned Gen 49:14strong
reeked Ex 8:14stank
repointing 1 Sam 13:21sharpen
reposes Pro 14:33resteth
reputed Gal 2:9seemed
resound 1 Chr 16:32roar
resplendent Ps 76:4glorious
reveled Neh 9:25delighted themselves
revelry Is 22:13gladness
revening Jer 2:30destroying
rifts Jer 2:6pits
sachet Song 1:13bundle
satraps Est 3:12lieutenants
sheathed Ps 68:13covered
siegeworks Ecc 9:14bulwarks
simplehearted Ps 116:6simple
sistrums 2 Sam 6:5cornets
squall Mk 4:37storm of wind
stadia Rev 14:20furlongs
stag Song 2:9hart
stipulations Deut 4:45testimonies
suckling 1 Sam 7:9sucking
sullen 1 Ki 21:5sad
temperate 1 Tim 3:11sober
tempest Ps 55:8storm
terebinth Hos 4:13elms
tethered 2 Ki 7:10tied
thong Lk 3:16latchet
thornbush Is 55:13thorn
thundercloud Ps 81:7thunder
timidity 2 Tim 1:7fear
tinder Is 1:31tow
torrent Rev 12:15flood
tranquillity Ecc 4:6quietness
transcendsPhil 4:7passeth
transplanted Ezek 17:10planted
tresses Song 7:5galleries
tumult 1 Sam 14:19noise
turbulent Gen 49:4unstable
tyrannical Proverbs 28:16oppressor
tyranny Isaiah 54:14oppression
NIV BIBLE VERSE AV
underlings 2 Kings 19:6servants
vassal 2 Kings 24:1servant
vaunts Job 15:25strengtheneth
vent Job 20:23cast
verdant Song 1:16green
vestments Ezra 3:10apparel
vexed Psa 112:10grieved
wadi Num 34:5river
waylaid 1 Sam 15:2laid wait for
waywardness Hosea 14:4backsliding
wily Job 5:13froward
wrenched Genesis 32:25out of joint
wretches Matthew 21:41wicked men
yearling Isaiah 11:6fatling

 

For words beginning with letters A through I, click here...

Source: "Archaic Words and the Authorized Version," by Dr. Laurence M. Vance.

Other useful links: The King James Dictionary and Words From The Past

Contact: Philip Kapusta
 

 

Philip Kapusta biography