1 Peter 1:23 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.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
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.
having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by [the] living and abiding word of God.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God--living and remaining--to the age;
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.
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
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 your new life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the message of the Everliving God.
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.
Because you have had a new birth, not from the seed of man, but from eternal seed, through the word of a living and unchanging God.
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.
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
Word-for-word swaps
- Being→having
- by→through
- liveth→lives
- ever→remains
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.