Hebrews 12:3 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 consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
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 consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For consider well him who endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself, that ye be not weary, fainting in your minds.
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 consider again him who endured such gainsaying from the sinners to himself, that ye may not be wearied in your souls--being faint.
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 consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from ‘people who were sinning against themselves,’ so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from “people who were sinning against themselves,” so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.
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.
Give thought to him who has undergone so much of the hate of sinners against himself, so that you may not be tired and feeble of purpose.
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 consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→who
- faint→that
- minds→souls
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.