2 Peter 1:5 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 beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
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.
Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But for this very reason also, using therewith all diligence, in your faith have also virtue, in virtue knowledge,
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 this same also--all diligence having brought in besides, superadd in your faith the worthiness, and in the worthiness the knowledge,
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.
Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
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.
Yes, and for this reason do your best to supplement your faith by goodness, goodness by knowledge,
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.
So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue,
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.
Yes, And for this, very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
Word-for-word swaps
- beside→for
- giving→very
- to→in
- virtue→supply
- virtue→in
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.