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 HERE.
Words change in their meaning and usage. Not only do some words drop out of use and new words come into being, but perhaps more importantly, many words remain common but take on new definitions or lose old ones. Words that meant one thing even a short time ago may now mean something entirely different. These changes often impact how we understand older English writings without our even realizing it. The KJV is no exception. As an early 17th-century English translation, it contains words and phrases which meant something quite different in 1611 than they do today. To take one example of this, consider the word “staggered.”
Staggered not at the promise of God
To stagger is to lose one’s footing or to walk unsteadily. This core definition has remained constant. It meant that four hundred years ago and still means that today. Used as a figure of speech, however, it has a different connotation today than it once did. “Stagger” today is used for shock, surprise, or disorientation. We might hear something that takes us so off guard that we say it staggered us. These are the options people today have in mind when we approach the KJV and read about Abraham that:
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God,” (Romans 4:20, KJV).
What does it mean that he “staggered not.” Did the promise of God not shock or surprise him? Or is it more literal? Did the promise of God not cause him to stumble or lose his footing? Why would it? Does a promise of God typically cause people to walk in an unstable manner (either literally or figuratively)? What exactly did the author, or the translator, mean by the word “stagger” here? The answer is that, in earlier times, the word “stagger” was frequently used as a figure of speech for doubting or wavering in one’s commitment. Thus, we see other old English translations render the phrase as:
“For he doubted not in the promises of God…” (Coverdale, see also Geneva Bible, Wycliffe Bible).
Likewise, modern translators almost unanimously say:
“He did not waver at the promise of God…” (MEV, see also NASB, ESV, NKJV, NIV, CSB).
The point is that he did not falter in his trust in God’s promise. He held fast to God’s promise by faith. This is what “staggered not” meant in 1611, though today it is less clear than “he did not waver” or even the old “he doubted not.” Stagger was a fine word choice in the 17th century, but it doesn’t carry the metaphorical connotation today that it did back then.
