1 Corinthians 5:2 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.
And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
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 ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And *ye* are puffed up, and ye have not rather mourned, in order that he that has done this deed might be taken away out of the midst of you.
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 ye are having been puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he may be removed out of the midst of you who did this work,
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.
You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.
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.
Instead of grieving over it and taking steps for the expulsion of the man who has done this thing, is it possible that you are still puffed up?
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 in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.
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.
You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→You
- not→didn’t
- mourned→mourn
- hath→who
- away→removed
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.