1 Corinthians 7:29 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 this I say, brethren, the time short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
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 this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But this I say, brethren, the time is straitened. For the rest, that they who have wives, be as not having [any]:
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 this I say, brethren, the time henceforth is having been shortened--that both those having wives may be as not having;
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 I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;
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.
What I mean, friends, is this – the time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none,
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.
But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not;
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 I say, this, brothers: the time is short: that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;
Word-for-word swaps
- brethren→this
- that→those
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.