1 Corinthians 4:13 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.
Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things unto this day.
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.
being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
insulted, we entreat: we are become as [the] offscouring of the world, [the] refuse of all, until now.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
being spoken evil of, we entreat; as filth of the world we did become--of all things an offscouring--till now.
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.
Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.
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.
we meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.
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.
When evil things are said about us we give gentle answers: we are made as the unclean things of the world, as that for which no one has any use, even till now.
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.
Being defamed, we entreat. we are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all even until now.
Word-for-word swaps
- intreat→entreat
- of→dirt
- day→even
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.