Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Letter of Jeremiah 6:61 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

In like manner the lightning when it breaketh forth is easy to be seen; and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country.

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

Likewise also the lightning when it glittereth is fair to see; and after the same manner the wind also blows in every country.

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.

Likewise also the lightning when it glittereth is fair to see; and after the same manner the wind also blows in every country.

Word-for-word swaps

  • mannerLikewise
  • forthglittereth
  • easyfair
  • seensee
  • blowethalso

The verses either side

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

60For sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their offices, are obedient.
61In like manner the lightning when it breaketh forth is easy to be seen; and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country.
62And when God commandeth the clouds to go over the whole world, they do as they are bidden.

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.