Hebrews 12:20 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.
(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
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.
for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
(for they were not able to bear what was enjoined: And if a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for they were not bearing that which is commanded, `And if a beast may touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or with an arrow shot through,'
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.
for they could not stand that which was commanded, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”;
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
for they could not bear to think of the command – ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned to death;’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
for they could not bear to think of the command – “If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned to death;”
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.
For the order which said, If the mountain is touched even by a beast, the beast is to be stoned, seemed hard to them;
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.
(For they could not stand that which was commanded, if even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned,
Word-for-word swaps
- endure→stand
- touch→even
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.