2 Corinthians 11:28 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.
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
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.
Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Besides those things that are without, the crowd [of cares] pressing on me daily, the burden of all the assemblies.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
apart from the things without--the crowding upon me that is daily--the care of all the assemblies.
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.
Besides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily: anxiety for all the assemblies.
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.
And, not to speak of other things, there is my daily burden of anxiety about all the churches.
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.
In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches.
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.
Besides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily, anxiety for all the assemblies.
Word-for-word swaps
- Beside→Besides
- without→outside
- upon→presses
- of→anxiety
- churches→assemblies
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.