Genesis 27:25 in 6 translations
6 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.
And he said, Bring near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
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.
And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son`s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat. And he brought him wine, and he drank.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he said, Bring [it] near to me, that I may eat of my son's venison, in order that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it] near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
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 he saith, `Bring nigh to me, and I do eat of my son's provision, so that my soul doth bless thee;' and he bringeth nigh to him, and he eateth; and he bringeth to him wine, and he drinketh.
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.
He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless you.” He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
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 he said, Put it before me and I will take of my son's meat, so that I may give you a blessing. And he put it before him and he took it; and he gave him wine, and he had a drink.
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.
he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless you.” he brought it near to him, and he ate. he brought him wine, and he drank.
Word-for-word swaps
- And→you
- and→ate
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.
Not shown for this verse: Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth). Those translations are still incomplete in the corpus, and empty cards are not padded in.