2 Thessalonians 2:7 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.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth until he be taken out of the way.
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.
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only [there is] one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For the mystery of lawlessness already works; only [there is] he who restrains now until he be gone,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now will hinder --till he may be out of the way,
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.
For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.
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.
Wickedness, indeed, is already at work in secret; but only until he who at present restrains it is removed out of the way.
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.
For the secret of evil is even now at work: but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way.
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.
For the mystery of lawlessness already works. only there is one who restrains now until he is taken out of the way.
Word-for-word swaps
- doth→lawlessness
- work→works
- he→there
- be→is
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.