Some languages, including Arabic, Filipino, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish, have maintained the singular-plural distinction. In Spanish it's usted verses ustedes. In Portugese it's você versus vocês. But other languages besides modern English, including modern forms of Dutch, German, and Greek, have lost some or all of the singular/plural distinctions of the pronoun "you" that were once part of the language.

So What?

Why is this significant for English Bible readers? The Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Koine Greek of the New Testament both maintain the distinction between the singular and plural forms of "you" that have been lost in modern English. This presents a problem in modern English translations, whereas in Old English, the distinctions were clear. The uses of you, ye, thou, and thee, whether in Shakespeare's plays or in the King James Bible, weren't arbitrary choices. They clarified meaning. "Thou" and "thee" were always singular. "You" and "ye" were always plural. Here are a few significant examples from the early chapters of Genesis in the King James Bible:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou [you, singular, meaning Adam, the federal head of the human race] shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou [singular] eatest thereof thou [singular] shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)

And I will put enmity between thee [singular, referring to Satan] and the woman, and between thy seed [singular, the seed of Satan] and her seed; it shall bruise thy [singular] head, and thou [singular] shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye [plural, Adam and Eve] shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1)

And God said, Behold, I have given you [plural, Adam and Eve and their descendants] every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you [plural] it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29)

Being Sure of Who's "You"

A classic example of a place where the King James Bible provides clarity that modern English translations cannot is Jesus' discussion with the disciples in Luke 22:24-34 —

24.) And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
25.) And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
26.) But ye [plural] shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you [plural], let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
27.) For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you [plural] as he that serveth.
28.) Ye [plural] are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
29.) And I appoint unto you [plural] a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
30.) That ye [plural] may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31.) And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you [plural, all the disciples], that he may sift you [plural] as wheat:
32.) But I have prayed for thee [singular, referring to Peter specifically], that thy [singular, meaning Peter] faith fail not: and when thou [singular, Peter only] art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
33.) And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee [singular], both into prison, and to death.
34.) And he said, I tell thee [singular], Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou [singular] shalt thrice deny that thou [singular] knowest me.

Jesus' restoration of Peter after His resurrection, and His statements about Peter in relation to John (John 21:15ff), as well as Peter's prominent preaching role from Pentecost onward, are fully understood in light of His dealings with the disciples generally, and His prayer for Peter specifically, as recorded in Luke 22. The King James Bible provides clarity on this that modern English translations cannot.

So the next time you're reading a modern English translation and you're not certain just who "you" is in a particular passage, pick up a King James Bible and you'll find out!

KJV Only?

Is this to say that English-speaking Christians should only use the King James Bible? The short answer is "No," and this is a topic for another article. But let me say just a bit more here. No translation of God's Word into another language is the one and only inspired translation (as some KJV advocates claim). The New King James Bible, whose New Testament is also based on the Received Text of the Greek New Testament and on the most trustworthy Hebrew text, is a reliable translation in modern English.

There are issues with both the KJV and NKJV, although they are of very different kinds. But these are, by far, the two most reliable English translations. Beyond those two, however, are a wide range of other English translations that are based on untrustworthy Greek and Hebrew texts, and I do not recommend any of them.

Recommended Resources

For more information on Bible texts and translations, see our series, Scripture and You: Finding the Right Bible.