2 Corinthians 9:14 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 by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
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.
while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and in their supplication for you, full of ardent desire for you, on account of the exceeding grace of God [which is] upon you.
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 by their supplication in your behalf, longing after you because of the exceeding grace of God upon 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.
while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, yearn for you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
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 they also, in their prayers for you, express their longing to see you, because of the surpassing love of God displayed toward you.
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.
While their hearts go out to you in love and in prayer for you, because of the great grace of God which is in you.
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.
while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, yearn for you, by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
Word-for-word swaps
- prayer→while
- for→by
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.