1 John 4:17 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.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
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.
Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that even as *he* is, *we* also are in this world.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we--we also are in this world;
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.
In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world.
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.
This is the way love has reached its perfection among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Christ.
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.
In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in 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.
In this love has been made perfect, among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, even so are we in this world.
Word-for-word swaps
- our→In
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.