2 Corinthians 10:13 in 8 translations
7 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.
But we will not boast of things without measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
But we will not glory beyond [our] measure, but according to the measure of the province which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even unto you.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Now *we* will not boast out of measure, but according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us, to reach to you also.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and we in regard to the unmeasured things will not boast ourselves, but after the measure of the line that the God of measure did appoint to us--to reach even unto you;
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
We, however, will not give way to unlimited boasting, but will confine ourselves to the limits of the sphere to which God limited us, when he permitted us to come as far as Corinth.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
We will not give glory to ourselves in over-great measure, but after the measure of the rule which God has given us, a measure which comes even to you.
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
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.
But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.
Word-for-word swaps
- measure→beyond
- of→within
- rule→boundaries
- distributed→appointed
- to→which
- unto→to
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.