Esther 2:13 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.
Then thus came maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.
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.
then in this wise came the maiden unto the king: whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king`s house.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and thus came the maiden in unto the king), whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king's house.
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 with this the young woman hath come in unto the king, all that she saith is given to her, to go in with her, out of the house of the women, unto the house of the king;
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.
The young woman then came to the king like this: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the women’s house to the king’s house.
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.
each girl went in to the king. She was allowed to take with her whatever she wished from the women’s quarters,
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.
And in this way the girl went in to the king; whatever she had a desire for was given to her to take with her from the women's house into the house of the king.
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.
The young woman Then came to the king; like this: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the women’s house to the king’s house.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- whatsoever→like
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.