Articles Defense of the Traditional Texts and the KJB Will Kinney's KJB Defense Articles The :Latchet of Whose ShoesMark 1:7 “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
Is the word “shoes” an inaccurate or even archaic translation in the King James Bible?
At one of the many Bible clubs I belong to a young man posted that he did not think the King James Bible was accurate for recording that John the Baptist said he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of the shoes of Jesus.
He tells us: “In the KJV, John the Baptist says that he is unworthy to unlatch Jesus' shoes, while in the NIV, the translation is that John is unworthy to untie his sandal thong. IF you actually believe that first century Jews wore buckled shoes, I can't help you. Thus, the KJV doesn't have a monopoly on accurate translation.”
Let’s examine this young man’s point to see if it has any merit. It should first be pointed out that this young professing Christian does not believe that any Bible in any language is the complete and infallible words of God. So, his only recourse is to pick and choose among the thousands of variant readings and exercise his own mind and understanding to determine which individual words he thinks are the best ones to use for any verse he finds in the various, often wildly contradictory bible versions on the market today. Does he hold up any single Bible version as being the absolute Standard of God’s written Truth? Not a chance; but he wants you to think he somehow has a deeper revelation and understanding of what God really wanted to tell us in His Book.
Instead of ignorantly criticizing the language of the King James Bible, he would be much better served by learning more about his own native English tongue.
The phrase about the “shoes” of Jesus is found 4 times in the gospels. It is found in Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16 and John 1:27. It is one of the very few verses that is found in all four gospel accounts.
Let’s take the one found in Mark 1:7 and examine it more carefully. In Mark 1:7 we read about John the Baptist: “And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the LATCHET OF WHOSE SHOES I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
What we find when we look up the definition of the English word “shoe” in any good dictionary is that it means simply “an outer covering for the human foot, made of leather, canvas, etc. and usually having a stiff or thick sole and a heel: sometimes restricted to footwear that does not cover the ankle, as distinguished from a boot.” Webster’s New World College Dictionary 4th edition.
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines the word shoe as - noun “1 a covering for the foot having a sturdy sole and not reaching above the ankle. 2 a horseshoe.”
As for the English word “latchet” the American Heritage Dictionary of the English language has this one definition listed online - “A leather thong or strap used to fasten a shoe or sandal on the foot.”
Likewise the Merriam- Webster online Dictionary, 11th edition has this one definition of the word latchet - “a narrow leather strap, thong, or lace that fastens a shoe or sandal on the foot.”
This young man needs to learn more about his own English language. A latchet is not only some sort of a mechanical snap and a shoe encompasses much more than the latest style of Reeboks or Buster Brown’s.
Let’s look at some other Bible translations to see how they translate these and other passages.
The NKJV sides with the RSV, NIV, and NASB (THONGS OF SANDALS) saying: “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose SANDAL STRAP I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”
However even the NKJV and the NASB contain the word “shoes” in their modern translations. “Over Edom I will cast out my SHOE” Psalm 60:8, Psalm 108:9 (NKJV, NASB), Isaiah 20:2 “take our shoes off your feet”; Ezekiel 24:17, 23 “put your SHOES on your feet”, and Luke 10:4 “carry no SHOES” - NASB 1995.
Other Very modern versions like the Amplified has the word shoes in it some 13 times, while the 2001 ESV has shoes in it six times - Psalm 60:8, 108:9; Ezekiel 24:17, 23; Luke 15:22, and Ephesians 6:15.
Ezekiel 24:17, 23 - ‘Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."
Luke 15:22 - “But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.”
Ephesians 6:15 - “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. “
Many Bible translations both old and very modern side with the King James Bible’s reading of “the latchet of whose shoes”.
Wycliffe 1395 - “Y am not worthi to knele doun, and vnlace his schoone.” With modern spelling the Wycliffe bible reads: “I am not worthy to kneel down, and unloose the thong of his shoes.”
Tyndale’s New Testment 1525 - “whose shue latchet I am not worthy to stoupe doune and vnlose.”
Coverdale’s bible 1535 - “and to lowse vp ye lachet of his shue.”
The Bishops’ bible 1568, The Geneva Bible 1587 - “whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to stoupe downe, and vnloose.”
John Wesley’s translation of 1755, and Mace’s translation 1729, Worsley Version 1770 - “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
The Douay-Rheims bible - “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”
Webster’s Bible translation 1833 - “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
John Etheridge Translation from the Syriac 1849 - “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to bow myself to unloose.”
The English Revised Version 1880 - “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. “
The American Stadard Version 1901 - “There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
Lamsa’s 1936 translation of the Syriac Peshitta - “the strings of whose shoes I am not good enough to bend down and untie. “
Bible in Basic English 1961 - “whose shoes I am not good enough to undo.”
Goodspeed 1923, New Life Version 1969 , New English Bible 1970 - “help Him take off His shoes.”
Easy to Read Version 2001 - “untie his shoes. “
Worldwide English New Testament 1998 - “and untie his shoe strings.”
Updated Bible Version 2004 - “the lace of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
The KJV 21st Century Version 1994 and the Third Millenium Bible 1998 - “There cometh after me One mightier than I, the strap of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
There is absolutely nothing wrong or inaccurate about the phrase found in the King James Bible (and MANY others as well) where John the Baptist says that he is unworthy to unloose the LATCHET of His SHOES. A little learning about our own English language goes a long ways in clearing up any alleged errors or inaccuracies the bible agnostics ignorantly bring up against it.
The King James Bible is always right.
Will Kinney