Bible Verses
Translation comparison

1 Esdras 9:37 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

And the priests and Levites, and they that were of Israel, dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the country, in the first day of the seventh month: so the children of Israel were in their habitations.

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

And the priests and Levites, and those who were of Israel, lived in Jerusalem, and in the country, on the new moon of the seventh month, and the children of Israel in their habitations.

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.

And the priests and Levites, and those who were of Israel, lived in Jerusalem, and in the country, on the new moon of the seventh month: and the children of Israel in their habitations.

Word-for-word swaps

  • thatthose
  • dweltlived
  • inon
  • daynew
  • soand

The verses either side

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

36All these had taken strange wives, and they put them away with their children.
37And the priests and Levites, and they that were of Israel, dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the country, in the first day of the seventh month: so the children of Israel were in their habitations.
38And the whole multitude came together with one accord into the broad place of the holy porch toward the east:

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.