2 John 1:4 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.
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
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.
I rejoice greatly that I have found [certain] of thy children walking in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
I rejoiced greatly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received commandment from the Father.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
I rejoiced exceedingly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, even as a command we did receive from the Father;
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.
I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we have been commanded by the Father.
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.
It was a great joy to me to find the lives of some of your children guided by the truth, in obedience to the command that we received from the Father.
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.
It gave me great joy to see some of your children walking in the true way, even as we were ordered to do by the Father.
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 rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we have been commanded by the Father.
Word-for-word swaps
- rejoiced→rejoice
- thy→your
- from→been
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.