Bible Verses
Translation comparison

1 Maccabees 6:41 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 all that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the company, and the rattling of the harness, were moved: for the army was very great and mighty.

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 all that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the multitude, and the rattling of the arms, did quake: for the army was exceeding great and strong.

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 all that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the multitude, and the rattling of the arms, did quake: for the army was exceeding great and strong.

Word-for-word swaps

  • WhereforeAnd
  • companymultitude
  • movedarms
  • veryexceeding
  • mightystrong

The verses either side

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

40So part of the king’s army being spread upon the high mountains, and part on the valleys below, they marched on safely and in order.
41Wherefore all that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the company, and the rattling of the harness, were moved: for the army was very great and mighty.
42Then Judas and his host drew near, and entered into battle, and there were slain of the king’s army six hundred men.

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.