1 Corinthians 7:17 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 as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
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.
Only, as the Lord hath distributed to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the churches.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
However, as the Lord has divided to each, as God has called each, so let him walk; and thus I ordain in all the assemblies.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
if not, as God did distribute to each, as the Lord hath called each--so let him walk; and thus in all the assemblies do I direct:
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.
Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. So I command in all the assemblies.
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.
In any case, a person should continue to live in the condition which the Lord has allotted to them, and in which they were when God called them. This is the rule that I lay down in every church.
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.
Only, as the Lord has given to a man, and as is the purpose of God for him, so let him go on living. And these are my orders for all the churches.
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.
Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. so I command in all the assemblies.
Word-for-word swaps
- But→Only
- hath→the
- every→each
- hath→God
- one→each
- churches→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.