Noah Webster Is On My Side!

[@stevegroom58]

This is my FAVORITE Mark Ward KZbin Video. And so is "Is My Work Working?" And so is "Tattoo-Inspired New Testament Exegesis." And so is "Did God Prepare All Languages for Perfect Bible Translations?" And so is "KJV Words You Don't Know You Don't Know." And . . . Mark comes up with great stuff. Arm yourself with the ideas from many of his videos, ideas to consider putting to good use in our lives as we are given opportunities. I am grateful and am inspired to try to be a little more gracious and loving and not be baited into being contentious.

[@wardonwords]

Ha! You made me chuckle! Thank you for this kind comment, Steve.

[@joelrios4051]

I just found Webster's preface this morning and loved it. I decided to start looking more into it. This issue always reminds me of the case of the word "replenish" in Genesis 1:28 that has now given rise to the idea that the creation recorded in Genesis 1 was a second creation, and not the very beginning; which has helped evolutionary ideas to creep into the church and result in very fanciful conjectures.

[@wardonwords]

Right!

[@chinloisin4466]

Another excellent video Mark. I can't help but share that even in the legal profession in my country where lawyers were largely trained in English laws, we tend to use the archaic legal phrases that we read in case laws, many of which are about 100-200 years old. So, archaic words like wherefore, herein, hereunto and many more often appear in legal drafting. However, I am happy to observe that there is a growing movement towards the adoption of plain English in legal drafting which makes legal documents much easier to comprehend for all parties concerned. Language needs to move with times and serve the needs of the current generation.

[@wardonwords]

Excellent! Interesting!

[@charlesburks2175]

It's amazing how much of a difference these small words can have in confusing the original meaning - because of language change. I hope you will make more videos on these common occurrences that Noah Webster had already identified as problematic in his day. Thanks Mark!

[@wardonwords]

I have done some of this work-have you seen this series? kzbin.info/aero/PLq1Aq0ucgkPCtHJ5pwhrU1pjMsUr9F2rc

[@charlesburks2175]

@@wardonwords Yes, I have listened to the videos and also have your book. Enjoy all of it and looking forward to more!

[@ghess]

Hi Mark! It will the The Webster Bible’s 200th anniversary in about 10 years. Oh how I wish a publisher would release a high quality print! There are just so few editions left. It would be a shame to see this part of Noah Webster’s legacy fade into obscurity. It’s a real hidden gem of Americana and a blessing given to us through a man whose mastery over the English language was exceeded only by his reverence to God. Please continue to use your influence to keep it alive!

[@BanazirGalpsi1968]

While you have a much better idea , that it ought to be properly published again, it is possible to access Websters bible for free. If you get and or have a software called esword , which is free on your p.c.

[@PritchardStudios]

This is great! I was just reading and referencing the intro to Webster's Bible a couple days ago. It's incredible to see such a learned and trusted man bringing up so many of the very same issues. I hope this video has a strong impact. Many of my KJVO friends love Webster's dictionary, so perhaps this will carry additional weight for them. This is also a great reminder that even the definitions in Webster's 1828 don't always match the usage of the KJV, something I've realized for a while now.

[@wardonwords]

Share it on Facebook, Shelby! I'd love that!

[@d0g_0f_Christ0s]

The shear obviousness of what you and Mr Webster are beating our modern earholes with is shamingly logical and abundantly necessary. Don't give up, my earholes have a happy face over your reasonings 👂👍👍 thank you.

[@wardonwords]

Ha, my pleasure!

[@danbrown586]

"Back when I was negative 147 years old" got a chuckle from me.

[@wardonwords]

I barely remember being that old.

[@No_auto_toon]

@@wardonwords I literally heard a preacher and someone else misuse ‘offend’ in chapel.

[@maxxiong]

12:30 Do you think that "faith of Christ" in several verses, where modern translations have "faith in Christ", are false friends with "of" meaning "concerning" as described here? I have legitimately seen some argue these verses refer to Christ's righteousness imputed to us rather than our faith.

[@wardonwords]

Super briefly, I think we're dealing with genuine inspired ambiguity. Genitive uses, they're called in Greek (as you may know?).

[@colonyofcellsiamamachine6175]

The webster bible is in the public domain. Unfortunately, many archaic words were not revised.

[@MAMoreno]

Hey, it's a start. If you hand someone a Webster Bible, you're handing them something with far fewer problems for the modern reader than those offered by the 1769 Blayney Bible.

[@carriecarter08]

Webster was the OG word nerd! 🤓 I love the video! I truly enjoy reading the KJV, but recognize that false friends and dead words can cause a lot of confusion. I would love an updated KJV Bible, so when you get it published, I’ll be first in line to buy one!

[@wardonwords]

Awesome! You're on the list. ;)

[@danbratten3103]

@@wardonwords put me on that list please. 🙏🏻

[@salvadaXgracia]

​@@clark_woodsonAmen! The most popular Reina Valera was translated in the mid 19s, so about 350 years more recently than the KJV. Have you tried reading the NKJV?

[@therealkillerb7643]

Slowly working my way through your catalogue; great work!

[@wardonwords]

Many thanks!

[@Me2Lancer]

Kudos, Mark. You are in great company.

[@wardonwords]

I sure think so! This is one of my favorite discoveries!

[@Stuntdriver44]

As I said... Mark Ward has come in the spirit and power of Noah Webster.

[@wardonwords]

Yes!!

[@guyesmith]

I was so happy to discover this

[@carmensiekierke3579]

Mark, did you know there is a committee to update the language of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Catechisms ( Longer and Shorter)? Dr. Alan Strange ( OPC) is on this committee. "Not for anything wraught in them".......Dr. Strange: "We live in the 21st century. It's a little odd for us to have our Scriptures in the language that we speak and have our confessions in this older language. It can render them quaint. I've heard someone who heard the language say "Oh, that's kind of neat. Kind of cool." I don't want people to think our confessions are neat or cool or cute. I want them to think marvelous, magnificent, ferocious....if you would."

[@davecrawford4377]

Hi Mark very good episode I very much enjoyed it, thank you very much. God Bless!!

[@wardonwords]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@adamskawesker5102]

I found his revision on BLB, and I am liking it. He still uses "kill" instead of "murder" in Exodus 20:13, but maybe they were still synonymous back in 1833. Anyone know where I can get a physical copy of his revision? And Mark, I would totally get a KJV revision by you in a heartbeat.

[@wardonwords]

Thank you! That's an honor!

[@matthewmencel5978]

the meaning of promiscuous actually makes sense. It is speaking of diverse or multiplicity. in this case. a promiscuous company is a company of a diverse crowd/multiple peoples. A promiscuous person is a person who has sexual relations with multiple/different partners.

[@wardonwords]

Absolutely. But no one would use the word today the way Webster did then.

[@frankiezzi1359]

Great video mark I didn't even know about that

[@wardonwords]

I wish I'd known a long time ago! Friends tried to tell me!

[@ejwoods2457]

So the Webster’s Revision could have been a decent update? I’ve looked at and it is very minimal compared to the NKJV for instance.

[@wardonwords]

I have barely looked at the translation itself, I confess!

[@ejwoods2457]

@@wardonwords It’s impressive from the comparisons I’ve been making. I’ve been using to assist my KJV reading. I just got my first Cambridge Clarion in KJV and I can’t put it down. Brown Calfskin. Poor beeves! But it’s helped clarify the KJV text every time I’ve looked at it and it’s revisions are truly minimal in my opinion.

[@MAMoreno]

@@ejwoods2457 Yes, Webster discusses the changes he made in his preface. They're all quite minimal: www.bible-researcher.com/webster.html For all intents and purposes, it is still essentially an edition of the KJV, albeit a heavily-Americanized 19th century one.

[@ejwoods2457]

@@MAMoreno Of course, honestly, the KJV has been revised and many of its revisions have been too and so forth. We have some very accurate and readable modern translations. I agree with Ward that institutional use of the KJV should be done with. There’s so many factors that call for this and the fact that we have a variety of adequate alternatives leaves churches with no reason for retaining the KJV except unwillingness to let go of tradition and misunderstanding of the facts.

[@KeithCindyPanama]

****** thank you for sharing this historic information:)

[@wardonwords]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@joshuamercer1933]

Very interesting find. Thanks for sharing.

[@wardonwords]

You bet!

[@edwardgraham9443]

This is just absolutely brilliant. This really shows you how language has changed and how it affects comprehension and exposition of the sacred text. Thank you for sharing this. One thing I must point though and that's the difference between American and British English. As native speaker of British English (what we folks here in Jamaica speak officially), there are some false friends which appears in the KJV that are quite commonly used in everyday speach. For example, we still use the word which instead of who and his instead of its when talking about inanimate objects like trees, although as many younger Jamaicans, younger than myself, get more americanised, they speak more American English and spell like Americans than what our official language offords. For example, I have a 3 year old son and trying to teach him his alphabet, I'm in a tug of war with and his teacher who tells him that the last letter of the alphabet is zee, while I insist to hims it's pronounced zed. The majority of Jamaican tends to to drop the u from words like labour or colour and so on and punctuate as Americans do. There is an Anglicized ESV on biblegateway.com, but sadly there's none in print. Essentially though, the point I'm trying to make is that there are some words in the KJV that are deemed as false friends that are still in use in everyday speach among us who don't speak American English, but British or as we call it in Jamaica, the Queen's English.

[@wardonwords]

So fascinating!

[@jo_kimmich3268]

I can't like this video enough. I am a non native speaker who mostly uses the NASB and ESV. I've gotten a copy of the KJV as well. And I really want to challenge my reading comprehension. I want to be able to understand it, and most of the time I get the meaning. One bible passage I was so confused about is in Gen 4:7 "[...] and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. (so far so good) And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." What is meant by "his"? Who is "him"? Is it Abel? Doesn't really make sense. In the footnote they add the "normal" reading of "unto thee is its desire, but thou shouldst rule over it. And that's how I was able to understand the passage. But it took me so much time, just to think about the verse. I consulted the NASB and ESV. It was time consuming and frustrating. One big upside: One learns quite a lot about the history of the english language. It's super interesting. Only after watching this video I know that the translators of the KJV used "his" for neutral things like trees in gen 1:11 as you mentioned. Now it makes sense! :D Please, keep making videos. They are truly enjoyable.

[@wardonwords]

You picked the one key difference between KJV English and contemporary English that is relevant to the interpretation of that passage. Really, though, most of the interpretive difficulty is in the Hebrew. It’s just a tough passage.

[@lonestarstate6570]

I guess he forgot to update Job 17:6...

[@wardonwords]

That was not an English issue but a Hebrew one.

[@fnjesusfreak]

It's funny: They lionize him when he produces a dictionary, but when he produces a Bible he's the Great Satan to them.

[@wardonwords]

Have you heard them say this?

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@wardonwords While I have not heard it in so many words, we know that certain changes that he made are attacked by KJVO people, with one example being Acts 12.4, and given that these people often insist that the KJV is not only word for word perfect but often letter for letter and serif for serif perfect, it stands to reason that their reaction to a Bible that dares to make changes over their beloved KJV would be disgust. Given that Ruckman for example stated that God himself told the KJV translators to write Easter instead of Passover in the Acts example, and Webster has Passover, and the invective they hurl at even publishers of KJVs that don't fit their standard... the invective they hurl at Scrivener for the Cambridge Paragraph Bible, which has even fewer changes than Webster, it is clear to me that if any of them were to react to Webster openly, it would cause them serious cognitive dissonance. Which is probably why I can't find any reviews from KJVO people online.

[@got2liv4him]

Great video… and I like how your ear buds are pointing at us like head lasers…

[@wardonwords]

All the cool KZbinrs are doin’ it. ;)

[@EricGreniervideo]

Another great video!

[@wardonwords]

Thanks again!

[@MAMoreno]

It would be nice if someone would give Webster's version the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible treatment. A lovely single-column paragraph format with an aesthetically-pleasing font would do it great favors. So too, perhaps the edition should include a certain number of defined theological terms and archaic words from his 1828 dictionary as an appendix.

[@wardonwords]

Agreed! A good idea.

[@ussconductor5433]

Love this idea ⬆️

[@Perktube1]

Gotta love the humor.😂

[@ApprprtlyRecalcitrant]

Very cool discovery. Keep it up, sir.

[@wardonwords]

Many thanks!

[@amrosh791]

Holy crap. Your bit on usury just blew my mind. Having been in a KJVO church for many years, I heard many times that usury was excessive interest. 🤯

[@wardonwords]

Yup! OED: "The fact or practice of lending money at interest; esp. in later use, the practice of charging, taking, or contracting to receive, excessive or illegal rates of interest for money on loan."

[@amrosh791]

Yeah, which means that in christian interactions, the general command would be to not charge each other interest at all right?

[@19king14]

Another good one! Can't argue with Noah Webster!! :) Here's even more..... This isn’t for controversy, just additional input only... Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower magazine discussed this numerous times over the decades and has provided a few more words, some of which I present here (although some have already been mentioned). This is from an older February 15, 1957 issue. KJV... NWT alleging... proving by references - Acts 17:3 anon... at once - Mark 1:30 barbarous... foreign-speaking people - Acts 28:2 centurion... army officer - Acts 10:22 charger... plate - Matt. 14:11 charity... love - 1 Cor. 13:13 cheek teeth... fangs - (RS) Joel 1:6 confectionaries... ointment mixers - 1 Sam. 8:13 divers places... in one place after another - Matt. 24:7 drunken... sufficiently fed - 1 Cor. 11:21 leasing... lies - (RS) Ps. 4:2 mortify... put . . . to death - Rom. 8:13 outlandish women... foreign wives - Neh. 13:26 publican... tax collector - Matt. 10:3 sons of Belial... scoundrels - 1 Sam. 2:12 sod pottage... was boiling up some stew - Gen. 25:29 suffer... let - Mark 10:14 take no thought... do not become anxious - Matt. 10:19 turtle... turtledove (RS) - S. of So. Ca 2:12 unicorn... wild bull - Num. 23:22 winked at... overlooked - Acts 17:30 do you to wit... let you know - 2 Cor. 8:1 wotteth not... does not know - Gen. 39:8 As always.. Multiple translations is the best way to go!..

[@wardonwords]

Oh, they will! They will argue with him! I'm sorry if the upshot of my video is that KJV-Onlyists now distrust Webster! He was a super smart guy.

[@19king14]

@@wardonwords Hopefully, it won't get to the point of distrusting Webster. Having multiple sources in making a point (in this case that KJV has outdated and/or words with different meanings) should hopefully offer more to think twice about. Thus the above list from another source.

[@christianacosta4922]

Thank you for this incredible content. I wish I could be certain this video would settle the argument for the KJVO crowd that English has indeed changed, that the namesake of their preeminent interpretive tool made the same argument 200 years ago. But it won’t 😔 You continue to build your cumulative case on the needless devotion to a 400 year old translation. Keep up the good work! I am always blessed by it.

[@wardonwords]

I just have to plant these seeds and pray that God will give the increase!

[@biblestudent2723]

Well done! I would think that THIS will become one of your most popular videos...or at least it should!👍

[@wardonwords]

I'm gratified at the response here!

[@thomasmaloney843]

KjVO is a religion unto itself.

[@wardonwords]

Only in its most extreme forms. And even then I think it’s full of true Christians.

[@williamragle1608]

Wow! Here I was thinking you were special. One of a kind. Too bad your ideas are almost 200 years old.

[@wardonwords]

I've never been so happy to be disappointed!

[@dbpete]

Wow! Great video. Webster's introduction is more profound and compelling than the KJV introduction (my previous favorite). By the way is "titter" becoming an archaic expression? Keep up the the great work now that you are obviously wearing Daniel Webster's mantle.

[@wardonwords]

Not *Daniel* Webster, I hope! ;) And as for "titter," boy… I don't hear it often, that's true.

[@barblothe3366]

How do I get a copy like the screen shots you shared?

[@wardonwords]

I'm afraid I deleted them… But I put a link just now into the description to the Internet Archive copy of Webster's Bible.

[@SirChristoferus]

While reading through some of Webster's 1833 revision, I remember noticing a place where he addressed one of those "false friends" in 1st Samuel 4:9, exchanging "quit yourselves like men" for "acquit yourselves like men." It seems that in 1833, "acquit" had a fairly common meaning of performing adequately within the parameters of a certain role or task.

[@wardonwords]

Yes, I have a video on that word! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJOnaniqobx3gtk

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

Shoot, I wish Genesis 1:11 was a divine confirmation of Ents. Quite disappointing. Lol. 😂

[@wardonwords]

Yup. Sorry. ;)

[@tony.biondi]

Excellent, again, thank you, Mark! Your video sent me down a little rabbit hole and I discovered that Tim Frisch also made an interesting video about Webster's Bible a few years ago. Who knew?

[@wardonwords]

Sounds like a good future video! My BRIEF impression is that it really is just the kind of KJV update that I have thought about doing: minimal, just going after dead words and false friends.

[@tony.biondi]

@@wardonwords yes, I think Tim comes to the same conclusion - not an ideal revision for the 21st Century, but amazing nonetheless.

[@brendaboykin3281]

Always interesting! Thanks for your work for the Body of Christ. 🌹🌹🌹

[@wardonwords]

My pleasure!

[@matthewpoole4975]

Thanks Mark! You “throughly” ;) cover the issue. Appreciate your spirit bro.

[@wardonwords]

My pleasure! I love that little word joke, too!

[@danbratten3103]

Thank you Mark for making this video! I first heard about Noah Webster's revision a couple years ago. I purchased a used copy made back in 1980s. I loved it so much I ordered a new one to have it rebound. Unfortunately I accidentally purchased a paperback version & the binding company said not to send them a paperback version, I had to purchase a new hardback one (haven't shipped it off yet). So now I have 3 copies plus an app on my phone with Webster's revision. I wish some of the Bible publishers would look at making this revision in formats of Bibles today. Needless to say it is my favorite version of the Bible. I do find it odd how KJVO people will tell you that all you need is Webster's Dictionary to help with reading the KJV, yet they don't want people to read his revision of the KJV. Anyways, thank you again Mark for making this video. Blessings.

[@wardonwords]

I need to some reading in the actual translation/revision. I do hope my message in this video is used by the Lord to persuade some folks.

[@danbratten3103]

@@wardonwords I really enjoy it. I prefer the Thee's & Thou's of the KJV and Webster retained those. It reads so much like the KJV I barely noticed some of the changes. There are many times when I am reading it that I stop just to compare the differences. This video is one of my favorites of your videos, but I am biased. Keep up the great work Mark! 👍🏻 And may God continue to bless you. 🙏🏻

[@guymontag349]

Does anybody want to wager how long it will be before the KJV-only crowd claims that Webster was a godless heretic who purposely defiled the "preserved word of God" and deserves eternal hellfire?

[@amrosh791]

Oh boy. This is nail in the coffin content. It would seem from this material that the KJO question was asked and answered 200 years ago 🤦‍♂

[@wardonwords]

I tend to think so! But people have a way of staying in their coffins…

[@sorenpx]

I actually just picked up a hardcopy of Webster's 1828 dictionary. Neither you nor Webster are wrong about the language, of course, but instead of driving me away from the KJV, I use both his dictionary and your false friends videos to understand the KJV better. You mention in this video that you have considered doing your own Webster-esque revision of the KJV. What I think would be far superior would be to do an annotated edition with all of your info regarding the archaic vocabulary. That way you are not tinkering with the text itself but still helping people to understand it better.

[@wardonwords]

This comment is much appreciated. I may one day do just what you describe.

[@Bryan-mo9xw]

Looking forward to this!

[@wardonwords]

I don’t make my wife watch very many of my videos, but I asked her to watch this one. She loved it. She laughed out loud. Made me feel good!

[@Bryan-mo9xw]

@@wardonwords 😆

[@RyGuy8989]

Mark Ward = The modern day Noah Webster!

[@wardonwords]

If only!

[@brendaboykin3281]

Happy for this tool for Apologetics in your seemingly quixotic quest. Bravo, Mark. 😎

[@wardonwords]

Ha! Yes!

[@ussconductor5433]

Does this video have anything to do with the Webster Bible excerpt I sent you? 🤣

[@wardonwords]

Why, yes! Several friends sent this to me. I finally read the whole thing.

[@stevemonty]

I applaud and appreciate your work Mr Ward, despite videos like this; kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqm2lZ-wqqeMY7M, which really got my goat up I don’t mind saying! I know we’re not to be about chasing the ‘devils dogs’, as it were, but…well. I look forward to your videos, have read your book (twice), even though my understanding of the original languages would be consider ‘baby pasteboard picture book’ level. God bless you, your family, and your work.

[@wardonwords]

My dad and mom just watched that video, too. Shook their heads the whole time. Can't win 'em all!

[@charlesratcliff2016]

I still have my Noah Webster Dictionary.

[@wardonwords]

I never did get one, but I certainly admire the man! And I've used subsequent Webster (and Merriam-Webster) dictionaries.

[@charlesratcliff2016]

@@wardonwords I use the Webster a lot also

[@rosslewchuk9286]

The KJVO position strikes me as elitist and jingoistic. It will create a linguistic ghetto where 20th century mentalities will stumble on misinterpreting 1611 English via false friends. Very sad. Pray for the KJVO crowd! You are producing very helpful videos! Keep on!🙋🏼‍♂️📖 (From my comment on Dwayne Green's channel.)

[@wardonwords]

Ah, thank you!

[@christophermccall7202]

You see the Problem is you do not change the Text Ever. Yiu would bring out your Mark Ward version of the King Jakes Bible. You leave the text alone, and what yiu do is put what think it should say in notes. But come on brother to even suggest about making 1 change to the King James Bible Text is ludicrous.

[@wardonwords]

My friend, you do not share the perspective of the KJV translators. And the KJV people use today is itself an update from the 1611. It's a 1769 version. I caution you: show Christian humility, brother.

[@christophermccall7202]

@@wardonwords im not the 1 talking about making changes to the word of God brother, thats A wrong thing to do. I said if you think yiu have better words then what you should do is put out a KJV bible with your notes at the sides in like the centre column saying today we would use the word such and such. But you do not ever tamper with the Text. Thats a devil that does that. Noah webster would be wrongnif he has made changes to the Actual text. As with Genesis 1:11 it doesnt need changed at all. The seed is within the Man. No problems there. The first thing the Devil does in Genesis 3:1 is put doubts on the word of God brother. Yea hath God said. Ie did Hod really mean to say that surely not what he ment, a better word would be such and such. The devil turns up casts doubt on the word of God. Therefore it is a sign to look for people that change the Scriptures the actual Text. I see theres guys who have brought out KJV refernce bibles and they dont change the Text, they just insert the understanding in the notes. A Humble man doesnt talk abiut tanpering with Gods words brother he just doesnt thats not the Holy Ghost that leads a man to do that.

[@deniemarie5010]

Great information Brother Mark. I have a digital version of Websters Bible translation. I'm wondering, was his updated translation used very much along history?✝️📖🤍

[@wardonwords]

I don’t think it really was, or I assume I would’ve encountered it before in historical writings. But I really just don’t know.