Galatians 3:15 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.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though but a man’s covenant, yet confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
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.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man`s covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Brethren, (I speak according to man,) even man's confirmed covenant no one sets aside, or adds other dispositions to.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Brethren, as a man I say it, even of man a confirmed covenant no one doth make void or doth add to,
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.
Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
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.
To take an illustration, friends, from daily life – No one sets aside even an agreement between two people, when once it has been confirmed, nor do they add conditions to it.
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.
Brothers, as men would say, even a man's agreement, when it has been made certain, may not be put on one side, or have additions made to it.
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.
Brothers, speaking of human terms, Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
Word-for-word swaps
- manner→Brothers
- men→human
- but→it
- disannulleth→one
- thereto→adds
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.