Ephesians 5:23 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.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
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 husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the church, [being] himself the saviour of the body.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
for a husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ [is] head of the assembly. *He* [is] Saviour of the body.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ is head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body,
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 husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For a man is the head of his wife, as the Christ is the head of the church – being indeed himself the Savior of his body.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For a man is the head of his wife, as the Christ is the head of the church – being indeed himself the Saviour of his body.
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.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.
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 husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.
Word-for-word swaps
- is→assembly
- saviour→savior
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.