1 Samuel 26:11 in 6 translations
6 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.
The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
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.
Jehovah forbid that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah`s anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Jehovah forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed! But now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
far be it from me, by Jehovah, from putting forth my hand against the anointed of Jehovah; and, now, take, I pray thee, the spear which is at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and we go away.'
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.
Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let us go.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Never will my hand be stretched out against the man marked with the holy oil; but take the spear which is by his head and the vessel of water, and let us go.
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.
Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed: but, now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let us go.
Word-for-word swaps
- LORD→Yahweh
- mine→out
- LORD’S→Yahweh’s
- bolster→head
- cruse→jar
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.
Not shown for this verse: Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth). Those translations are still incomplete in the corpus, and empty cards are not padded in.