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Bible Q

Does Matthew 24:7 refer to underwater earthquakes?

Answered by . May 11, 2010 - 11:54 am

In the King James Version, this passage reads

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (Matthew 24:7 KJV)

“Divers places” does not refer to places where divers go. This is archaic spelling for “diverse places”. The King James Version was produced nearly 400 years ago and English has changed a lot over the intervening years. Words have changed their meaning and their spelling, making it easy for modern readers to misunderstand the KJV. Therefore we recommend Bible versions in modern English. On this site we use the ESV which reads

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7 ESV)

One Reply to “Does Matthew 24:7 refer to underwater earthquakes?”

  1. According to David W. Daniels’ kjv dictionary: “The King James Bible Companion” DIVERS = old spelling of DIVERSE; unequal.