1 Corinthians 14:2 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.
For he that speaketh in an tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
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.
For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For he that speaks with a tongue does not speak to men but to God: for no one hears; but in spirit he speaks mysteries.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for he who is speaking in an unknown tongue--to men he doth not speak, but to God, for no one doth hearken, and in spirit he doth speak secrets;
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.
For he who speaks in another language speaks not to men, but to God; for no one understands; but in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
The person who, when speaking, uses the gift of ‘tongues’ is speaking, not to people, but to God, for no one understands them; yet in spirit they are speaking of hidden truths.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
The person who, when speaking, uses the gift of “tongues” is speaking, not to people, but to God, for no one understands them; yet in spirit they are speaking of hidden truths.
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.
For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things.
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.
For he who speaks in another language speaks not to men, but to God: for no one understands; but in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
Word-for-word swaps
- speaketh→who
- speaketh→another
- unto→to
- howbeit→one
- speaketh→speaks
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.