01.00.3. “ALSO”
“ALSO” When the word “also” occurs in a sentence, the sense of the passage entirely depends on its position, and it is impossible to read (especially aloud) correctly and intelligently without knowing the particular word it is intended to emphasize. In the Greek this is never in doubt, but in English literature, including both the Authorised and Revised Versions, there seems to be no definite law as to the position of the word “also,” and no uniformity as to its usage. In the Greek the word καί (kai), when it means “also,” is placed always immediately before the word which it emphasizes; while in English usage it is placed either before or after the word. In the Authorised and Revised Versions it is sometimes placed before and sometimes after the word, in which case it is ambiguous; but in many cases it is placed in connection with quite another word, in which case it is misleading. The word καί in the sense of “also” occurs some 636 times in the New Testament. In 258 of these it is placed (in A.V.) after the word. In 275 it is placed either before the word or in connection with another word. In 60 places it is not translated at all. In 43 places it is rendered “even,” and placed before the word.
Sometimes the A.V. and R.V. agree in this, and sometimes they differ. For the sake of clearness as well as of uniformity, we propose to use the word “also” always after the word, and to consider this the correct English usage. As an illustration we may take Rom 5:3, where the A.V. reads, “We glory in tribulations also,” which means that though we glory in many things, we glory in tribulations as well. This is misleading. The R.V. reads, “We also glory in tribulations,” which reads as though others glory in tribulations, but we do so as well as they. This is ambiguous. But the Greek places the emphasis on glory, as much as to say: We not only have to endure the tribulations, but we GLORY as well in them. As the word which the Holy Spirit would have us emphasize can be discovered only on reference to the Greek, it is necessary for us to give every passage in order and in full. A list will be found at the end of the 258 passages where “also” correctly follows the word with which it stands connected.
We now give the 378 passages which are ambiguous or misleading in both the A.V. and R.V., printing the emphatic word in capital letters, and placing the word “also” immediately after it.