Hebrews 11:22 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.
By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
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.
By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
By faith Joseph [when] dying called to mind the going forth of the sons of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
by faith, Joseph dying, concerning the outgoing of the sons of Israel did make mention, and concerning his bones did give command.
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.
By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave instructions concerning his bones.
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.
Faith caused Joseph, when his end was near, to speak of the future migration of the Israelites, and to give instructions with regard to his bones.
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.
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, said that the children of Israel would go out of Egypt; and gave orders about his bones.
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.
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave instructions concerning his bones.
Word-for-word swaps
- died→his
- departing→departure
- commandment→instructions
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.