1 Corinthians 7:7 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.
For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
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.
Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Now I wish all men to be even as myself: but every one has his own gift of God: one man thus, and another thus.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for I wish all men to be even as I myself am; but each his own gift hath of God, one indeed thus, and one thus.
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.
Yet I wish that all men were like me. However each man has his own gift from God, one of this kind, and another of that kind.
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.
I should wish everyone to be just what I am myself. But everyone has his own gift from God – one in one way, and one in another.
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.
It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.
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.
Yet I wish that all men were like me. However each man has his own gift from God, one of this kind, and another of that. kind.
Word-for-word swaps
- For→Yet
- would→wish
- every→like
- hath→has
- proper→own
- of→from
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.