Bible Verses
Translation comparison

1 Maccabees 11:12 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

Wherefore he took his daughter from him, and gave her to Demetrius, and forsook Alexander, so that their hatred was openly known.

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 taking his daughter from him, he gave her to Demetrius, and was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity was openly seen.

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 taking his daughter from him, he gave her to Demetrius, and was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity was openly seen.

Word-for-word swaps

  • tookAnd
  • andhe
  • forsookwas
  • thatand
  • hatredenmity
  • knownseen

The verses either side

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

11Thus did he slander him, because he was desirous of his kingdom.
12Wherefore he took his daughter from him, and gave her to Demetrius, and forsook Alexander, so that their hatred was openly known.
13Then Ptolemee entered into Antioch, where he set two crowns upon his head, the crown of Asia, and of Egypt.

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.