By And By
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [1]
BY AND BY . In AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘by and by’ means immediately , not as now after some time . Thus Luke 21:8 ‘the end is not by and by’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘immediately’).
Easton's Bible Dictionary [2]
Matthew 13:21 Luke 21:9
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
In the sense of "immediately" is the King James Version translation of ἐξαυτῆς , exautḗs , of Mark 6:25 (the American Standard Revised Version "forthwith"); of εὐθύς , euthús , Matthew 13:21 (the American Standard Revised Version "straightway"); of εὐθέως , euthéōs , Luke 17:7 (the American Standard Revised Version "straightway"); Luke 21:9 (the American Standard Revised Version "immediately"). In English literally this meaning is obsolete (compare: "After you have dyned and supte, laboure not by and by after, but make a pause - the space of an howre or more with some pastyme" (Babees Book, Eets , 247).
