Galatians 3:23 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.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
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.
But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But before faith came, we were guarded under law, shut up to faith [which was] about to be revealed.
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 before the coming of the faith, under law we were being kept, shut up to the faith about to be revealed,
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.
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
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.
Before the coming of faith, we were kept under the guard of the Law, in bondage, awaiting the faith that was destined to be revealed.
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 before faith came, we were kept in prison under the law, waiting for the revelation of the faith which was to come.
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.
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→confined
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.