Bible Verses
Translation comparison

1 Maccabees 1:20 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 after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,

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 Antiochus, after that he had struck Egypt, returned in the hundred and forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,

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 Antiochus, after that he had struck Egypt, returned in the hundred and forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,

Word-for-word swaps

  • Antiochushe
  • smittenstruck

The verses either side

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

19Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt and he took the spoils thereof.
20And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,
21And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof,

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.