So we made it through the Easter season, and I only recoiled in horror once. It was in church, with members of the congregation reading aloud from the Scriptures — the bad guys mistreating Jesus in Luke 22:64:
And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
But I heard some of our beloved amateur actors say Prophecy instead of Prophesy.
- A prophecy (final syllable pronounced see) is a prediction. And a noun.
- To prophesy (final syllable pronounced sigh) is to predict, reveal, or announce, as with divine authority. And it’s a verb.
When you prophesy, you offer a prophecy. Sigh, see. You cannot prophecy (see) — and you can’t offer a prophesy (sigh).
And there is no such word as prophesize.
See?
Sigh.
English Is A Complicated Language 