1 Corinthians 9:11 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.
If we have sown unto you spiritual things, a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
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.
If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
If we have sown to you spiritual things, [is it a] great [thing] if *we* shall reap your carnal things?
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 we to you the spiritual things did sow--great is it if we your fleshly things do reap?
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.
If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?
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.
Since we, then, sowed spiritual seed for you, is it too much that we should reap from you an earthly harvest?
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.
If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?
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.
If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→sowed
- carnal→fleshly
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.