Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Ephesians 4:5 in 8 translations

4 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 · Bible in Basic English
KJV
BBE

These 2 editions word this verse identically.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

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.

American Standard Version · Young's Literal Translation · World English Bible
ASV
YLT
WEB

These 3 editions word this verse identically.

one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.

Darby Bible
DARBY

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.

Modern English

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

Open English Bible (US) · Open English Bible (Commonwealth)
OEB-US
OEB-CW

These 2 editions word this verse identically.

There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.

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.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

The verses either side

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