1 Corinthians 7:11 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.
But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to husband: and let not the husband put away wife.
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.
(but should she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
(but if also she shall have been separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband;) and let not husband leave wife.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but and if she may separate, let her remain unmarried, or to the husband let her be reconciled, and let not a husband send away a wife.
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.
(but if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband not leave his wife.
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.
(If she has done so, she should remain as she is, or else be reconciled to her husband) and also that a man is not to divorce his wife.
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.
(Or if she goes away from him, let her keep unmarried, or be united to her husband again); and that the husband may not go away from his wife.
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.
But if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband: and that the husband not leave his wife.
Word-for-word swaps
- depart→departs
- not→that
- away→not
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.