Galatians 4:23 in 8 translations
8 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 he of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman by promise.
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.
Howbeit the [son] by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the [son] by the freewoman [is born] through promise.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But he [that was] of the maid servant was born according to flesh, and he [that was] of the free woman through the promise.
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 he who is of the maid-servant, according to flesh hath been, and he who is of the free-woman, through the promise;
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.
However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But the child of the slave-woman was born in the course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born in fulfillment of a promise.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But the child of the slave-woman was born in the course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born in fulfilment of a promise.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Now the son by the servant-woman has his birth after the flesh; but the son by the free woman has his birth through the undertaking of God.
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.
However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh; but the son by the free woman was born through promise.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→However
- bondwoman→son
- after→according
- freewoman→son
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.