1 Corinthians 3:1 in 8 translations
6 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.
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.
And *I*, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ.
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 I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly--as to babes in Christ;
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, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
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.
But I, my friends, could not speak to you as people with spiritual insight, but only as worldly-minded – mere infants in the faith of Christ.
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.
And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.
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, I, couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
Word-for-word swaps
- And→Brothers
- not→couldn’t
- unto→to
- carnal→to
- babes→to
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.