2 Corinthians 6:15 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.
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
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.
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and what consent of Christ with Beliar, or what part for a believer along with an unbeliever?
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 what fellowship to light with darkness? and what concord to Christ with Belial? or what part to a believer with an unbeliever?
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.
What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
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.
What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial? Or what can those who accept the faith have in common with those who reject it?
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.
And what agreement is there between Christ and the Evil One? or what part has one who has faith with one who has not?
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.
what agreement has Christ with Belial? or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
Word-for-word swaps
- hath→agreement
- believeth→portion
- infidel→unbeliever
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.