1 Corinthians 10:28 in 8 translations
8 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.
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:
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.
But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But if any one say to you, This is offered to holy purposes, do not eat, for his sake that pointed it out, and conscience sake;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and if any one may say to you, `This is a thing sacrificed to an idol,' --do not eat, because of that one who shewed it, and of the conscience, for the Lord's is the earth and its fulness:
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.
But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But, if anyone should say to you ‘This has been offered in sacrifice to an idol,’ then, for the sake of the speaker and his scruples, do not eat it.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But, if anyone should say to you “This has been offered in sacrifice to an idol,” then, for the sake of the speaker and his scruples, do not eat it.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
But if anyone says to you, This food has been used as an offering, do not take it, on account of him who said it, and on account of his sense of right and wrong:
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.
But if anyone says to you, This was offered to idols, don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake: of conscience. for the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→anyone
- is→was
- unto→to
- not→it
- his→the
- it→of
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.