This article is part of a series on the changing meaning of English words and its impact on the King James Only debate. To see the introduction to this series, click The King James Version and the changing use of words.
Languages change over time. Words drop out of use and new words come into being or creep in from other languages. Syntax, grammar, and punctuation conventions can shift quite radically. One of the biggest issues, however, can be the changing meaning of words. The definition and usage of a word can shift from one period to the next. Words that meant one thing even a few generations ago may now mean something completely different. These changes can impact how we read, understand, and apply older writings in our own language. We misunderstand without even realizing it. Because the words are so familiar to us, it rarely occurs to us while reading that they may have unfamiliar meanings. There are many such words in the KJV. For an example of this, let’s consider the word “issues.”
The issues of life
When we think of the “issues of life,” we think of life’s problems or difficulties. We might perhaps think more generally of the subjects or matters of life, the “issues” pertaining to life. That’s what an “issue” is. It is a topic or, more commonly, a conflict or challenge. So this proverb seems pretty clear to us:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” (Proverbs 4:23, KJV).
This seems to be saying that we must keep diligent guard over our heart because all the troubles of life come forth from the heart. Isn’t this saying the same thing that Jesus taught?
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man,” (Mark 7:21-23).
So all of life’s problems come from the heart of man. It seems reasonable enough to think that this is what the Proverb is talking about. Doesn’t Jesus’ list give us a pretty good catalog of the issues of life? While this interpretation seems wholly reasonable and so the common reader would not be compelled to pause and question it, it is actually incorrect. When the KJV translators chose the words “issues of life” to express this proverb, they had something quite different in mind. The Hebrew words here that the KJV was translating don’t mean “problems of life” or even “subjects” of “topics” of life. Note how a few older English translations before the KJV translated it:
“With all keeping keep thine heart, for life cometh forth of it,” (Wycliffe Bible).
“Keep thine heart with all diligence, for thereout commeth life,” (Geneva Bible).
“Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it issueth life,” (Bishops Bible).
As you can see, the common meaning among these is the idea or image of life itself coming out of or springing forth from the heart. The rendering of the Bishops Bible is especially instructive in understanding the KJV, because it uses the verb “issueth.” While the noun “issue” has come to only mean a subject or a problem, “issue” as a verb has not wholly lost its old meaning. While it is a bit old-fashioned, we still know what it means for something to “issue forth” from something else. Water issues forth from a spring or a faucet. Blood issues forth from a serious wound. When the KJV spoke of the “issues” of life, it actually meant the flowing or coming forth of life. Note how some modern translations render it:
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life,” (NASB).
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life,” (ESV).
A present-day update of the KJV likewise renders it:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the outflowings of life,” (King James Version 21st Century).
So, the proverb is not saying that all of our troubles or difficulties come from our heart, but rather that our life flows out from the heart. This, too, is in agreement with the teachings of Jesus, who also said:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh,” (Luke 6:45).
Thus, your whole life, both the good and the bad, come from your heart. This is why you must be so diligent in watching and guarding the contents of your heart. All of your thoughts, words, and actions will spring forth from there. As the NIV sums it up well:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” (NIV).
…and from death
A similar phrase occurs in the Psalms, where it says:
“He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death,” (Psalm 68:20).
Once again, this is not speaking of the “matters from death” or the “troubles from death.” It is talking about springing forth from death. This is why modern translations render the phrase:
“…escapes from death,” (NASB, see also NIV, NKJV, CSB, MEV).
“…deliverances from death,” (ESV).
This is not a new or novel interpretation. Several of the great English translations before the KJV also said: “escape death,” (Coverdale, the Matthew Bible, and the Great Bible). This doesn’t disagree with the KJV. Again, “issues from death” mean “spring forth from death” or “come out of death.” The idea here is that God saves or delivers from death.
Similarly, when the KJV says that the woman who came to Jesus for healing in Matthew 9:20 had an “issue of blood,” it is not saying that she had a problem of blood but rather a flow of blood, (see also Mark 5:25 and Luke 8:43-44). Other examples could also be given. The point is, the word “issues,” like so many other words, has changed in its usage over the centuries, and this affects our reading of the text without our even realizing it.
