1 Corinthians 14:20 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.
Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
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.
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Brethren, be not children in [your] minds, but in malice be babes; but in [your] minds be grown [men].
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Brethren, become not children in the understanding, but in the evil be ye babes, and in the understanding become ye perfect;
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.
Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature.
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.
My friends, do not show yourselves children in understanding. In wickedness be infants, but in understanding show yourselves adults.
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.
My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth.
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.
Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature.
Word-for-word swaps
- Brethren→Brothers
- howbeit→thoughts
- children→babies
- understanding→thoughts
- men→mature
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.