1 Timothy 3:5 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.
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
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 if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
(but if one does not know how to conduct his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God?)
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 if any one his own house how to lead hath not known, how an assembly of God shall he take care of?)
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 if a man doesn’t know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?)
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.
If someone does not know how to provide for their own household, how can they take charge of the church of God?
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.
(For if a man has not the art of ruling his house, how will he take care of the church of God?)
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 if a man doesn’t know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?)
Word-for-word swaps
- For→but
- shall→will
- church→assembly
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.