2 Corinthians 11:7 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.
Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
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.
Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for nought?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Have I committed sin, abasing myself in order that *ye* might be exalted, because I gratuitously announced to you the glad tidings of God?
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 sin did I do--myself humbling that ye might be exalted, because freely the good news of God I did proclaim to 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.
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Good News free of charge?
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.
Perhaps you say that I did wrong in humbling myself that you might be exalted – I mean because I told you God’s good news without payment.
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.
Or did I do wrong in making myself low so that you might be lifted up, because I gave you the good news of God without reward?
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.
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Good News free of charge?
Word-for-word swaps
- Have→Or
- offence→commit
- abasing→humbling
- ye→you
- gospel→God’s
- freely→charge
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.