1. ‘Thou And’ ‘You’
ARCHAIC ENGLISH FORMS IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE
One of the most interesting aspects of the King James Bible is its use of ways of speaking that were already becoming archaic in the standard English of the first decade of the seventeenth century. By adopting these older forms, the King James Bible had the unintended effect of perpetuating ways of speaking that, strictly speaking, were dying out in everyday English speech. In what follows, we shall look at three broad areas in which archaic forms are used, and consider their significance.
1. ‘THOU AND’ ‘YOU’
One of the most distinctive features of the King James Bible is its use of “Thee,” “Thou,” “Thy,” and “Thine,” where modern English would simply use “you,” “your” and “yours.” In early Middle English, the situation was quite simple: “thou” was the singular form of “ye,” and was, therefore, used to address one other person. It may be helpful to set out the situation in tabular form.
Singular
Plural
Nominative
Thou
Ye
Accusative
Thee
You
Genitive
Thy
Your
However, the widespread use of French in England during the Middle Ages led to what was originally a simple situation becoming more complex. The English word “you” came to have the same associations as the French “vous.” Following normal French practice, the singular forms (thou; thee; thy) were used within a family, or to address children or people of inferior social class. The plural forms (ye; you; your) were adopted as a mark of respect when addressing a social superior. By the sixteenth century, the use of the singular form to address a single individual had virtually ceased in English, except in the specific case of family and inferiors. To address another as “thou” was thus to claim social superiority over him or her. There is considerable evidence that, at least in certain circles, it was used as a form of studied insult.
A careful study of the court records of the northern English city of Durham suggests that “you” had replaced “thou” as the normal form of address in spoken English by about 1575. The decision to use “thou” was a departure from the norm, intended to make a point—for example, in the following exchange between a social inferior and his superior:
Roger Donn: For although ye be a gent, and I a poor man, my honesty shall be as good as yours.
Mr. Ratcliff: What saith thou? Likens thou thy honesty to mine?
A further complexity concerned the distinction between “ye” (nominative) and “you” (accusative). Although the terms were spelled differently there is substantial evidence to suggest that they were pronounced virtually identically. The King James Bible occasionally retains this distinction, even though it had passed out of general use by 1600. For example, consider the following construction found in Job 12:2–3:
No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you.
The interplay of “ye” and “you” in this passage—and elsewhere—rests on a series of nice distinctions that had become somewhat blurred and vague by 1611.
As is well known, the King James Bible retains the use of “thou” to refer to God, a human being, or even the devil. The following passages indicate the general lines of this usage: