1 Corinthians 12:15 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.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
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.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
If the foot say, Because I am not a hand I am not of the body, is it on account of this not indeed of the body?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
if the foot may say, `Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body;' it is not, because of this, not of the body;
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.
If the foot would say, “Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body,” it is not therefore not part of the body.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
If the foot says ‘Since I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it does not because of that cease to belong to the body.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
If the foot says “Since I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it does not because of that cease to belong to the body.
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.
If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not a part of the body; it is no less a part of the body.
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.
If the foot would say, Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body; it is not therefore not part of the body?
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→would
- am→I’m
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.