Then was fufilled what was spoken by the prophet

[amiable25]

Hello, I am currently reading an Englsih bible and I have a question.

" Then was fufilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah." I think this sentence has an inversion structure. (Then + v+s)

But I can't understand why and how this occured. If you give me an explanation, that would be a big help. Thank you.

 

[slevlife]

Which translation/version of the Bible are you referencing? And what do you mean by "why and how"? Most of us are probably not Biblical experts, and besides, many translations of the Bible are bad sources for learning modern English grammar and vocabulary.

 

[probus]

It is just very old-fashioned. For one thing, nowadays we would use said or foretold rather than spoken. If it was from the King James Version I'd simply say that English has evolved, but it isn't. It is from the New Standard Version of the gospel of Matthew. People seem to prefer their Bible texts with an archaic flavour, for reasons I have never understood. (Cross-posted).

 

[jutfrank]

I'd say such inversion is quite typical of that particular version of the Bible. As probus says, it's very old-fashioned now.

 

[tedmc]

Then was fufilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.

I think the subject is placed after the predicate to sound biblical. Is this clearer?

What was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was then fulfulled.

 

[Phaedrus]

People seem to prefer their Bible texts with an archaic flavour, for reasons I have never understood.

Beauty

 

[amiable25]

I am reading the ESV version. Thank you for your comment!

 

[Phaedrus]

I'd say such inversion is quite typical of that particular version of the Bible.

Coincidentally, I happen to be reading the King James translation of the book of Jeremiah right now, and have just come across the following pair of sentences, which features inversion with "then" in the first sentence and no inversion with "then" in the second.

"Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.
"Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them" (Jeremiah 11:5-6, KJV).

Thus, in the 1600s, inversion with "then" was possible but optional. Now I'd say we only use inversion with "then" when it is preceded "only," and that is subject-auxiliary inversion, not full inversion. Full inversion doesn't work anymore with "then," even when it's preceded by "only":

Only then did I see the rainbow.
*[strike]Only then saw I the rainbow[/strike].