1 Corinthians 10:23 in 8 translations
7 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
All things are lawful, but all are not profitable; all things are lawful, but all do not edify.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
All things to me are lawful, but all things are not profitable; all things to me are lawful, but all things do not build up;
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Everything is allowable! Yes, but everything is not profitable. Everything is allowable! Yes, but everything does not build up character.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good.
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. all things are lawful for me, but not all things build up.
Word-for-word swaps
- expedient→profitable
- not→build
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.