1 Peter 4:4 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 they think it strange that ye run not with to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of
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 they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with [them] to the same sink of corruption, speaking injuriously [of you];
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 they think it strange--your not running with them to the same excess of dissoluteness, speaking evil,
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.
They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:
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, because you do not run to the same extremes of profligacy as others, they are astonished, and malign you.
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 they are wondering that you no longer go with them in this violent wasting of life, and are saying evil things of you:
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.
they think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- to→them
- of→blaspheming
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.