1 Thessalonians 4:9 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.
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
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.
But concerning love of the brethren ye have no need that one write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Now concerning brotherly love ye have no need that we should write to you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
And concerning the brotherly love, ye have no need of my writing to you, for ye yourselves are God-taught to love one another,
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.
But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,
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.
As to love for each other there is no need to write to you; for you have yourselves been taught by God to love one another;
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.
But about loving the brothers, there is no need for me to say anything to you in this letter: for you have the teaching of God that love for one another is right and necessary;
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.
But concerning brotherly love you have no need that one write to you: for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
Word-for-word swaps
- touching→concerning
- ye→you
- I→one
- unto→to
- of→by
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.