Ephesians 5:33 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.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife that she reverence husband.
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.
Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and [let] the wife [see] that she fear her husband.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But *ye* also, every one of you, let each so love his own wife as himself; but as to the wife [I speak] that she may fear the husband.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but ye also, every one in particular--let each his own wife so love as himself, and the wife--that she may reverence the husband.
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.
Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
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.
However, for you individually, let each love his wife as if she were himself; and the wife be careful to respect her husband.
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.
But do you, everyone, have love for his wife, even as for himself; and let the wife see that she has respect for her husband.
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.
Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Word-for-word swaps
- one→each
- so→must
- reverence→respects
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.