1 Corinthians 6:16 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.
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
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.
Or know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith he, shall become one flesh.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Do ye not know that he [that is] joined to the harlot is one body? for the two, he says, shall be one flesh.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
have ye not known that he who is joined to the harlot is one body? `for they shall be--saith He--the two for one flesh.'
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.
Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Or don’t you know that a man who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body (for ‘the two,’ it is said, ‘will become one’);
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Or don’t you know that a man who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body (for “the two,” it is said, “will become one”);
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.
Or do you not see that he who is joined to a loose woman is one body with her? for God has said, The two of them will become one flesh.
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.
Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? for “The two, he, says, “will become one flesh.
Word-for-word swaps
- What→Or
- which→who
- harlot→a
- be→says
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.