Bible Verses
Translation comparison

1 Esdras 3:19 in 2 translations

2 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.

King James Version
KJV

It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

Modern English

Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.

World English Bible
WEB

it makes the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

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.

It makes the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

Word-for-word swaps

  • makethmakes

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

18And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it:
19It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:
20It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.