2 John 1:1 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.
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
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.
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all they that know the truth;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The elder to [the] elect lady and her children, whom *I* love in truth, and not *I* only but also all who have known the truth,
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 Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth,
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.
The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all those who know the truth;
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.
From the elder, to the lady chosen by God and her children. I truly love you all, and I am not the only one but all who know the truth love you as well.
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, a ruler in the church, send word to the noble sister who is of God's selection, and to her children, for whom I have true love; and not only I, but all who have knowledge of what is true;
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.
The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all those who know the truth;
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- elect→chosen
- known→those
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.