Archaic KJV Word
Justification
Modern equivalent: made right with God
What Was Lost
The courtroom drama: a guilty defendant stands before the divine Judge, and the Judge declares them righteous -- not because they are, but because another paid the penalty. The word held an entire theology of grace in six syllables. Now it means 'making excuses.'
Closest Survivor in Modern English
justification (still used in theology but contaminated by 'self-justification')
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Romans 5:18 -- 'By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life'
Died still used but confused (~1960)
The legal term was co-opted by everyday English to mean 'making excuses for behavior,' inverting the theological meaning from divine declaration to human rationalization.
What Replaced It
“being made right with God”
Wordy paraphrase; justification was a single-word legal verdict -- declared righteous in God's court
“acquittal”
Legal but implies the person was on trial; justification was a positive declaration of righteousness, not just absence of guilt