Daily Scripture in the King James Version: 30 Verses
Some King James words do not mean today what they meant in 1611, and that is the useful part of this page. "Charity" meant love. "Careful" meant anxious. "Study" meant work hard at something. Read those with their modern sense and you will misread the verse without ever noticing.
Below are 30 daily scriptures in the King James Version, in five groups. Each gets a short plain English explanation, and where a word has shifted since 1611, it is flagged in a line. A full table of the changed words follows the verses.
I own Ave, a daily Bible verse app, so you know where this page comes from.
Comfort
Psalm 23:1-3, the shepherd who provides
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalm 23:1-3, KJV)
David writes from a shepherd's experience. The picture is not luxury but sufficiency: pasture, water, rest, direction. The claim is about who is doing the leading, not about how comfortable the road is.
Word shift: "want" here means lack, not desire. The line says you will not go short, not that you will stop wanting things.
Matthew 11:28-30, an invitation to the exhausted
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV)
A yoke is a working harness, so this is not an offer of no work. It is an offer of a different load, carried alongside someone rather than alone. Jesus says the difference is in his character: meek and lowly, not demanding.
Philippians 4:6-7, anxiety and what to do with it
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV)
Paul is writing from imprisonment. The instruction is practical: take the specific thing you are worried about and say it. The promised result is not that the problem resolves but that something guards your thinking while it is unresolved.
Word shift: "careful" meant full of care, meaning anxious. "Be careful for nothing" is not advice to be reckless. It means do not be anxious about anything.
Psalm 34:18, God's location in grief
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:18, KJV)
Read as a statement of position. The psalm does not say God fixes the broken heart quickly or explains it. It says nearness is where he is found, and that the crushed rather than the composed are the ones described.
Word shift: "nigh" simply means near. "Contrite" means crushed or humbled, closer to broken than to apologetic.
John 14:16-18, the Comforter promised
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:16-18, KJV)
Spoken the night before the crucifixion, to men about to lose him. "Another" matters: another of the same kind, a replacement presence rather than a substitute arrangement.
Word shift: "Comforter" carried the older sense of one who strengthens, from the Latin root meaning to fortify. The Greek term also covers advocate and helper, which is why modern translations vary here.
Isaiah 41:10, four promises in one verse
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10, KJV)
Addressed to Israel facing foreign powers, not originally to an individual, though the pattern carries over. Notice the structure: two commands, then four things God says he will do. The commands rest on the promises rather than the other way around.
Strength
Isaiah 40:31, renewal for those who wait
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31, KJV)
The chapter is addressed to a tired people in exile. The three images descend in drama, from flying to running to walking, which suggests the point is endurance rather than peak performance.
Word shift: "wait upon" in modern English suggests serving someone at a table. Here it carries the sense of waiting for and hoping in.
Philippians 4:13, the verse most often pulled out of context
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13, KJV)
The verses just before this are about contentment in plenty and in hunger. Paul is saying he can handle any circumstance, not that he can achieve any ambition. Read with verses 11 and 12, it is a statement about endurance rather than performance.
Joshua 1:9, a command given at a handover
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9, KJV)
Joshua has just taken over from Moses and is about to lead a military campaign. Courage is framed as an order, which implies it is a decision rather than a feeling. The reason given is presence, not a guarantee of ease.
Psalm 46:1, help that is already there
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, KJV)
The Hebrew behind "very present" carries the idea of being readily found. The psalm goes on to describe mountains falling into the sea, so the setting is disaster rather than mild difficulty. Refuge and strength are paired deliberately: shelter to hide in, and power to act with.
2 Timothy 1:7, fear and what replaces it
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)
Paul writes to a younger colleague who appears to be intimidated by his role. The three replacements are worth noticing together: capability, care for people, and clear thinking. Courage here is not bravado.
Ephesians 6:10-11, borrowed military imagery
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11, KJV)
Paul was likely under Roman guard, so the armor imagery was in front of him. The stated goal is to stand, not to advance. Every piece listed afterward is defensive except one.
Word shift: "wiles" means cunning schemes or tricks, a word that has almost dropped out of everyday use.
Guidance
Proverbs 3:5-6, trust before understanding
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, KJV)
Proverbs deals in general patterns rather than guarantees, which is worth holding in mind. "Lean not" does not mean stop thinking. It means do not put your full weight on your own read of a situation.
Psalm 119:105, how far the light reaches
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105, KJV)
An oil lamp in the ancient world lit a step or two ahead, not the whole road. That is the point of the image. The promise is enough visibility for the next move, which is a smaller and more realistic claim than it is usually given credit for.
James 1:5, asking without embarrassment
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5, KJV)
James writes to scattered believers under pressure. The striking word is "upbraideth", meaning to scold or reproach. The verse anticipates that you will feel foolish asking, and says the response will not be a lecture.
2 Timothy 2:15, the verse most misread on this page
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV)
This is regularly quoted as a command to study the Bible. That is not quite what the sentence says in 1611 English, and the surrounding verses concern how Timothy conducts himself as a teacher.
Word shift: "study" meant to be diligent, to make every effort. The instruction is to work hard at being the kind of person God approves. Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:11, "study to be quiet", which makes no sense under the modern meaning.
Hebrews 4:12, a living text
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, KJV)
The claim is that Scripture reads you as much as you read it. The surgical imagery is deliberate and slightly uncomfortable, describing separation of things normally joined.
Word shift: "quick" means alive, not fast. The same sense survives in the old phrase "the quick and the dead". The verse says the word is living and active.
Matthew 6:33-34, priorities and tomorrow
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:33-34, KJV)
Part of the Sermon on the Mount, following a passage about food and clothing. It is addressed to people with real material worry, not to the comfortable.
Word shift: "take no thought" meant do not be anxious. Jesus is not telling anyone to stop planning. He is telling them to stop worrying.
Gratitude
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, three short instructions
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, KJV)
Read the preposition carefully. It says in everything, not for everything. Gratitude is placed inside circumstances rather than aimed at them, which is a meaningfully different instruction from being thankful that a bad thing happened.
Psalm 100:4, approach and posture
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4, KJV)
The setting is temple worship, with gates and courts as literal architecture. Thanksgiving is described as the way in rather than the reward at the end. That ordering is the substance of the verse.
Colossians 3:15, a short clause with weight
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (Colossians 3:15, KJV)
"Rule" translates a word associated with an umpire making a call. The context is a passage about how a community treats each other, so this is less about inner calm and more about what settles disputes between people.
James 1:17, where good things originate
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17, KJV)
The second half uses astronomical imagery. Lights in the sky shift and cast moving shadows, and James says God does not. The gratitude here rests on consistency rather than generosity alone.
Psalm 103:1-2, talking to yourself
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2, KJV)
David addresses himself, which is unusual and worth noticing. Gratitude is treated as something you have to instruct yourself into. The assumption behind "forget not" is that forgetting is the default.
1 Timothy 6:17-18, instructions to the comfortable
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. (1 Timothy 6:17-18, KJV)
Paul does not tell wealthy believers to divest. He tells them where to place their confidence, and then what to do with what they hold.
Word shift: "communicate" meant to share or give a share, not to talk. "Willing to communicate" means willing to share what you have.
The well known ones
John 3:16, the most quoted verse in English
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV)
Spoken in a night conversation with Nicodemus, a religious leader. "So" here functions as "in this way" as much as "so much", which shifts the emphasis slightly toward the manner of the loving rather than its quantity. Translators differ on how hard to press that.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the love chapter, with two shifted words
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, KJV)
Written to a divided church, which is why the list is mostly about restraint. Nearly every item describes something love does not do.
Word shift: two here. "Charity" translates the Greek agape, which is love, not philanthropy. "Suffereth long" uses "suffer" in its older sense of bearing or allowing, so the phrase means patient rather than in pain.
Matthew 19:14, children and access
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:14, KJV)
The disciples had been turning families away. Jesus overrules them and makes the children an illustration of who the kingdom belongs to, which in that culture was a pointed choice.
Word shift: "suffer" means allow or permit. The sentence reads "let the little children come".
Romans 8:28, a verse that needs its qualifiers
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, KJV)
Two qualifiers are usually dropped when this is quoted. It is addressed to a specific group, and the good in view is defined in the next verse as being shaped into the likeness of Christ, not as a favorable outcome. Interpreters differ over how wide "all things" reaches.
Psalm 46:10, stillness in a war psalm
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10, KJV)
Usually read as an invitation to quiet reflection. In context, the psalm is describing warfare and God ending it, so the phrase carries something closer to "stop" or "cease" than "relax". The audience may be the raging nations rather than the worshipper.
1 Peter 2:9, a word that has aged badly
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9, KJV)
Peter is reapplying titles from Exodus to a scattered, mostly Gentile readership. The four descriptions are corporate, not individual.
Word shift: "peculiar" meant belonging to someone as their own possession, from the Latin for private property. It did not mean odd. The phrase means a people who are God's own.
The KJV words that have changed meaning
This is the practical core of the page. English has moved in four hundred years, and a handful of common King James words now point somewhere else entirely. The problem is not that these words are hard. It is that they are easy, and wrong. You read "study" or "charity" or "let", understand it instantly, and carry on with a meaning the translators did not intend.
That confident kind of misreading is worth taking seriously, and it is the same reason reading a verse with its reflection and explanation tends to catch things a quick read does not.
| Word | Sense in 1611 | Usual sense today | Verse where it matters | |---|---|---|---| | conversation | conduct, manner of life | talking | Philippians 1:27, 1 Peter 1:15 | | prevent | to go before, to precede | to stop something | 1 Thessalonians 4:15, Psalm 119:147 | | let | to hinder, to restrain | to allow | 2 Thessalonians 2:7, Romans 1:13 | | charity | love | philanthropy, giving | 1 Corinthians 13 | | suffer | to allow, to bear | to be in pain | Matthew 19:14 | | study | to be diligent, to make effort | to read up on | 2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 4:11 | | careful | anxious, full of care | cautious | Philippians 4:6, Luke 10:41 | | meat | food of any kind | animal flesh | Genesis 1:29, John 4:34 | | quick | alive | fast | Hebrews 4:12, Acts 10:42 | | want | to lack | to desire | Psalm 23:1, Philippians 4:11 | | peculiar | one's own possession | strange, odd | 1 Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14 | | communicate | to share, to give a share | to talk, to convey | Galatians 6:6, 1 Timothy 6:18 | | instant | urgent, persistent | immediate | Romans 12:12, Luke 7:4 | | by and by | immediately | eventually | Matthew 13:21, Mark 6:25 | | bowels | deep affection, compassion | intestines | Philippians 1:8, Colossians 3:12 | | halt | to limp, to waver | to stop | 1 Kings 18:21 |
Three of these change a verse outright rather than shading it.
Let reverses. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, "he who now letteth will let" means he who now restrains will keep restraining. Read with the modern sense, the sentence says close to the opposite of what it means. Romans 1:13, where Paul says he was "let hitherto", means he was prevented.
Prevent also reverses. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15, those who are alive "shall not prevent them which are asleep" means they will not go ahead of them. In Psalm 119:147 the writer "prevented the dawning of the morning", meaning he got up before it.
Study changes the instruction. 2 Timothy 2:15 is not primarily a command to study the Bible, however good that is. It says make every effort to be approved.
Two useful checks if you read the KJV regularly. First, if a verse suddenly seems strange or slightly off, that is often a shifted word rather than a difficult doctrine. Second, comparing the verse in a modern translation usually exposes the shift in seconds, without you needing Greek or Hebrew. This is also why some KJV phrases carry particular weight in English, as with the phrase behind what "die daily" means in the Bible.
Why the KJV is everywhere online
There is a straightforward reason free apps, free daily verse sites, and free Bible plugins so often default to the King James Version, and almost nobody states it: there is nothing to license.
The precise position is worth getting right. In the United Kingdom, rights in the KJV are vested in the Crown and administered by the Crown's patentee, Cambridge University Press, with Oxford University Press and Collins also holding printing rights under letters patent. This is not ordinary copyright with an expiry date. It comes from a royal printing privilege granted in 1611, and it has never lapsed. Cambridge allows limited non-commercial quotation with attribution, and anything larger or commercial requires written permission.
Outside the UK, the KJV is treated as public domain. English printing patents were disregarded after American independence, which is how the text became freely usable across most of the world while remaining restricted at home.
So the accurate sentence is not "the KJV is public domain". It is: public domain almost everywhere, and under a perpetual Crown privilege in the UK.
For a site owner or developer, that means the KJV costs nothing for most of the audience, while modern translations require licensing and often carry quotation limits. That is most of the explanation for why the King James text appears on free Bible sites far more often than its share of actual readers would predict, and why so many of the English phrases that came from Scripture, covered in Bible sayings and their origins, circulate in their King James wording.
Why people choose the KJV
The reasons are usually simpler than the arguments around them.
For many readers it is the version they memorized as children, and memorized text stays in the form it was learned. For others it is what their church reads aloud, which makes any other wording sound faintly wrong in a service. Some prefer the rhythm. The KJV was made to be read out loud, and its cadence is part of why it survived.
There is also the literary argument. The King James Version shaped English more than any other single book, and a large number of ordinary phrases in everyday speech come directly from it. Reading it is partly reading the source of the language.
Then there is the King James Only position, which is held sincerely by a significant number of churches and readers, and which deserves an accurate description rather than a caricature.
The heart of it is textual. The King James New Testament was translated from the Greek text later known as the Textus Receptus, which was the standard Protestant text from the Reformation into the nineteenth century. In the 1800s, older manuscripts came to light, including Codex Sinaiticus, and scholars began building critical editions drawing on them. Westcott and Hort's 1881 edition marked the turn, and today's Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies texts stand in that line and underlie most modern translations. The differences are mostly small, but a few are visible, including Mark 16:9-20, John 7:53-8:11, and the wording of 1 John 5:7.
Those who hold to the Textus Receptus argue that the text used continuously by the church has a stronger claim than manuscripts that were lost and later recovered. The mainstream scholarly view is that older manuscripts generally carry more weight, and most textual critics today work eclectically rather than committing to a single text type.
The position spans a range, from simply preferring the KJV, to holding the Byzantine or Majority text superior, to regarding the King James Version as uniquely preserved in English. This page describes that debate rather than settling it.
Common questions
Is the King James Version public domain?
Almost everywhere, yes. Outside the United Kingdom the KJV is treated as public domain and can be quoted and reproduced freely. Inside the UK it sits under a perpetual Crown privilege administered by Cambridge University Press, which permits limited non-commercial quotation with attribution and requires permission for more.
What does "study" mean in 2 Timothy 2:15?
In 1611 English, "study" meant to be diligent or make every effort. The verse is telling Timothy to work hard at being the kind of worker God approves, not specifically to read his Bible. The same sense appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, "study to be quiet".
Why does the KJV say charity instead of love?
"Charity" translates the Greek word agape. In 1611, charity was a normal English word for love, especially self-giving love, and had not yet narrowed to mean donating to good causes. Modern translations use "love" in 1 Corinthians 13 because that is what the older word meant.
Is the KJV we read today the 1611 text?
Not exactly. Most modern KJV Bibles follow the 1769 Oxford revision by Benjamin Blayney, which standardized spelling and punctuation and corrected printing errors. The wording is substantially the same as 1611, but the spelling on the page is not.
What does "let" mean in the King James Bible?
Usually it means allow, as it does today. But in a few places it carries the older sense of hinder or restrain, which is the reverse. The clearest example is 2 Thessalonians 2:7, "he who now letteth will let", meaning the one who now restrains will keep restraining.
Is the KJV harder to read than modern translations?
Generally yes, and the reason is often vocabulary rather than sentence structure. The words that cause trouble are usually not the obviously old ones but the familiar ones that have quietly changed meaning, since those pass unnoticed.
Which King James verse is best for daily reading?
There is no single answer, but Psalm 23, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 41:10, and Proverbs 3:5-6 are the ones most people return to. A rotating verse works better than a fixed favorite, because familiarity tends to flatten a passage over time.
Close
The King James Version rewards a slower read. Most of what trips people up is not archaic grammar but a small set of ordinary words that moved, and once you know which ones they are, whole verses come back into focus.
Ave sends one verse a day with a plain English explanation on tap, which is the same habit this page describes: one verse, understood properly, rather than a passage skimmed.