[email protected]

 
Bright Ideas and True Confessions: How and What to Do and Why



Everyday Language Use for the SCA




Reading the Bible Without Fear of Religion [1]

A good way to learn about Renaissance English is to read it. The two most
available sources are the works of Shakespeare and the King james version of
the Bible. Of those two, the Bible is the easier to read and is closer to
everyday speech and writing of the period.

You can't learn to use the phrases and vocabulary of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries until you have a feel for how they do and do not fit
together. You can use the "thee"s and "thou"s without the pain of conjugation
and memorization by reading them until they sound natural.

Here are some interesting passages which can be read painlessly and without
fear of religious effect. The first number is the chapter, and the second is
the verse. There will probably be a list of the books in order in the
beginning of the Bible.

* Esther 2:12 (harems)
* Genesis 38:8-10 (birth control)
* Judges 20:16 (a left-handed army)
* Zechariah 5:1-2 (a flying roll)
* Genesis 38:27-30 (a great story about unborn twins, and one sticks his
hand out. . .)
* Leviticus 11:30 (unclean creeping things)
* Isaiah 11:8 (cockatrices)
* Genesis 30:14-16 (sex for mandrakes)
* I Kings 16:9 (the captain is found drunk at the steward's house and the
king does horrible things for several verses following. Read verse 11 for an
interesting description of male-persons.)

For a little more serious reading, try Genesis 27, the entire chapter. It's
the story of Jacob and Esau - disguise and intrigue. The chapters following
that are good, too (including the mandrake story recommended above, and a
genetics lesson).

If you read a more modern version of the Bible you won't get the effect we're
after. Language like "And the King said unto Haman, The silver is given to
thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee" will be
changed to "'Keep the money,' the king said to Haman, 'and do with the people
as you please.'" (Esther 3:11, chosen at random, first King James and then
New International)

I don't recommend using "seemeth" in everyday speech, but the word order can
be used with our own verbs and pronouns. "Do with this as seems good to you"
sounds more formal and exotic than "Do whatever you want to do with it." "If
I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to
grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to
the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king
hath said. Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart. . ."
See? Even the verses that don't say anything weighty and wonderful can be
pretty. If you don't own a King James Bible, check a thrift store, used book
store, or ask an older protestant friend of yours if you can borrow one or
have an extra. The library may have one you can check out. Regular bookstores
probably have them, and most religious supply houses will have. Don't steal
one from a motel room if you can help it.

 
Footnotes:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] A word to the devout: Please don't be offended by my suggestion that
it's possible to read lots of the Bible without finding much of religious
value. I've scouted out these passages, and they're unlikely to bring anyone
closer to or further from God.

Copyright © by Sandra Dodd, 1991

[email protected]

In a message dated 11/9/02 8:05:58 AM, SandraDodd@... writes:

<< If you don't own a King James Bible, check a thrift store, used book

store, or ask an older protestant friend of yours if you can borrow one or

have an extra. The library may have one you can check out. Regular bookstores

probably have them, and most religious supply houses will have. Don't steal

one from a motel room if you can help it. >>

That was written a dozen years ago.

Now you can just go online to a searchable KJV.

There's one at the bottom of this site, and probably others elsewhere:
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/