2 Corinthians 10:7 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.
Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he Christ’s, even so we Christ’s.
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.
Ye look at the things that are before your face. If any man trusteth in himself that he is Christ`s, let him consider this again with himself, that, even as he is Christ`s, so also are we.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Do ye look at what concerns appearance? If any one has confidence in himself that he is of Christ, let him think this again in himself, that even as he [is] of Christ, so also [are] we.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
The things in presence do ye see? if any one hath trusted in himself to be Christ's, this let him reckon again from himself, that according as he is Christ's, so also we are Christ's;
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.
Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that, even as he is Christ’s, so also we are Christ’s.
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.
You look at the outward appearance of things! Let anyone, who is confident that he belongs to Christ, reflect, for himself, again on the fact – that we belong to Christ no less than he does.
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.
Give attention to the things which are before you. If any man seems to himself to be Christ's, let him keep in mind that we are as much Christ's as he is.
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.
Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again, with himself, that, even as he is Christ’s, so also we are Christ’s.
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- on→at
- appearance→only
- to→anyone
- think→consider
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.