1 John 3:23 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 this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
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 this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And this is his commandment, that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, even as he has given us commandment.
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 is His command, that we may believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and may love one another, even as He did give command to us,
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.
This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
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.
His command is that we should believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, as Christ commanded us.
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 this is his law, that we have faith in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love for one another, even as he said to us.
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.
this is his commandment, That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
Word-for-word swaps
- on→in
- commandment→commanded
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.