by Mark Ward

• Biblical Studies & Commentaries
• History & Biography

• Publisher: Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group)
• Published: 2026

Publisher's Description

Some words in the King James Bible aren't quite what they seem Pick up a King James Bible, and it's easy to spot words we don't use anymore, from bolled and bewray to hosen and hoised. The real trouble is the words that look perfectly normal to us, like study, sincere, offend, peculiar, and mansion. Mark Ward calls these "false friends"--words we don't know we don't know. In this enlightening and entertaining book, Ward considers thirty-eight false friends, showing how language shifts under our feet to change the meaning of words across the centuries. Far from critiquing the King James Bible, this book will make you a better reader of it by ● helping you spot false friends ● explaining how words change ● giving you the tools to define hidden KJV archaisms on your own Whether you grew up on the King James Version or use it for your Bible study today, this book will change how you read it--one word at a time.