Archaic KJV Word
Forgive
Modern equivalent: let go of resentment
What Was Lost
The weight-bearing. Hebrew nasa meant 'to lift and carry' -- when God forgave, He literally picked up the crushing weight of sin and carried it away. This was not an emotion but a physical transfer of burden. The scapegoat on the Day of Atonement was a visual enactment: sins were placed on it and it carried them into the wilderness.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
forgive (still used but understood as emotional release rather than debt cancellation)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Matthew 6:12 -- 'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'; Colossians 3:13 -- 'Forgiving one another'
Died still used but emotionalized (~1900)
Hebrew nasa/salach ('to carry away/lift off/send forth') and Greek aphiemi ('to send away/release/let go of a debt') were reduced from legal/financial debt release to an emotional process of 'letting go of anger.'
What Replaced It
“let go”
Vague emotional process; forgiveness was a concrete legal act of debt cancellation
“pardon”
Implies the offender still owes but won't be punished; biblical forgiveness meant the debt was actually carried away
“move on”
Self-focused psychological process; forgiveness was an objective act that changed the offender's status