1 Thessalonians 4:8 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.
He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
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.
Therefore he that rejecteth, rejecteth not man, but God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
He therefore that [in this] disregards [his brother], disregards, not man, but God, who has given also his Holy Spirit to 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.
he, therefore, who is despising--doth not despise man, but God, who also did give His Holy Spirit to us.
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.
Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you.
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.
Therefore the person who disregards this warning disregards, not people, but God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
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.
Whoever, then, goes against this word, goes against not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to 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.
therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his holy Spirit. to you.
Word-for-word swaps
- not→he
- hath→has
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.