Bible Verses
Translation comparison

2 Maccabees 3:35 in 2 translations

2 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.

King James Version
KJV

So Heliodorus, after he had offered sacrifice unto the Lord, and made great vows unto him that had saved his life, and saluted Onias, returned with his host to the king.

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

Modern English

Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.

World English Bible
WEB

So Heliodorus, having offered a sacrifice to the Lord and vowed great vows to him that had saved his life, and having graciously received Onias, returned with his army to the king.

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

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.

So Heliodorus, having offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and vowed great vows to him that had saved his life, and having graciously received Onias, returned with his army to the king.

Word-for-word swaps

  • hadhaving
  • untoto
  • madevowed
  • salutedhaving
  • hostarmy

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

34And seeing that thou hast been scourged from heaven, declare unto all men the mighty power of God. And when they had spoken these words, they appeared no more.
35So Heliodorus, after he had offered sacrifice unto the Lord, and made great vows unto him that had saved his life, and saluted Onias, returned with his host to the king.
36Then testified he to all men the works of the great God, which he had seen with his eyes.

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.