Acts 7:7 in 8 translations
8 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 the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
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.
And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and the nation to which they shall be in bondage will *I* judge, said God; and after these things they shall come forth and serve me in this place.
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 the nation whom they shall serve I will judge, said God; and after these things they shall come forth and shall do Me service in this place.
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 will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that will they come out, and serve me in this place.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But I myself will judge the nation, to which they will be enslaved,’ God said, ‘and after that they will leave the country and worship me in this place.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But I myself will judge the nation, to which they will be enslaved,” God said, “and after that they will leave the country and worship me in this place.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place.
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 will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God: and after that will they come out, and serve me in this place.’
Word-for-word swaps
- And→I
- whom→which
- shall→will
- judge→bondage
- forth→out
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.