2 Corinthians 8:8 in 8 translations
6 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.
I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
I do not speak as commanding [it], but through the zeal of others, and proving the genuineness of your love.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
not according to command do I speak, but because of the diligence of others, and of your love proving the genuineness,
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
I am not laying a command on you, but I am making use of the earnestness shown by others to test the genuineness of your affection.
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.
I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love.
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.
I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others, the sincerity also of your love.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→as
- forwardness→earnestness
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.