1 John 3:22 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.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
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.
and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and whatsoever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and practise the things which are pleasing in his sight.
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 whatever we may ask, we receive from Him, because His commands we keep, and the things pleasing before Him we do,
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.
and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
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.
and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we are keeping his commands, and are doing what pleases him.
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.
And he gives us all our requests, because we keep his laws and do the things which are pleasing in his eyes.
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.
And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
Word-for-word swaps
- whatsoever→whatever
- of→from
- those→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.