1 Peter 1:6 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.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
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.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Wherein ye exult, for a little while at present, if needed, put to grief by various trials,
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 which ye are glad, a little now, if it be necessary, being made to sorrow in manifold trials,
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.
Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,
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.
At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;
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.
You have cause for great joy in this, though it may have been necessary for you to be troubled for a little time, being tested in all sorts of ways,
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.
Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- season→little
- are→you
- temptations→various
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.