1 Corinthians 13:5 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.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
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.
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
does not behave in an unseemly manner, does not seek what is its own, is not quickly provoked, does not impute evil,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil,
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.
doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
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.
love is never self-seeking, never provoked, never reckons up her wrongs;
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.
Love's ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil;
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.
doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own, way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
Word-for-word swaps
- not→doesn’t
- her→inappropriately
- thinketh→takes
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.