1 Corinthians 11:5 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 every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
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 every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head; for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered puts her own head to shame; for it is one and the same as a shaved [woman].
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 every woman praying or prophesying with the head uncovered, doth dishonour her own head, for it is one and the same thing with her being shaven,
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 every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head. For it is one and the same thing as if she were shaved.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
while any woman, who prays or preaches in public bare-headed, dishonors him who is her head; for that is to make herself like one of the shameless women who shave their heads.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
while any woman, who prays or preaches in public bare-headed, dishonours him who is her head; for that is to make herself like one of the shameless women who shave their heads.
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 every woman who does so with her head unveiled, puts shame on her head: for it is the same as if her hair was cut off.
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 every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head: for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaved.
Word-for-word swaps
- prayeth→praying
- prophesieth→prophesying
- dishonoureth→dishonors
- that→it
- shaven→shaved
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.