1 Thessalonians 3:10 in 8 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.
Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
night and day beseeching exceedingly to the end that we may see your face, and perfect what is lacking in your faith?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
night and day exceedingly beseeching, that we might see your face, and perfect the things lacking in your faith.
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face, and make good any deficiency in your faith.
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.
Night and day requesting God again and again that we may see your face and make your faith complete.
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.
Night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
Word-for-word swaps
- might→may
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.