Hebrews 3:14 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.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
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 we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For we are become companions of the Christ if indeed we hold the beginning of the assurance firm to the end;
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 partakers we have become of the Christ, if the beginning of the confidence unto the end we may hold fast,
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 we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end:
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.
For we now all share in the Christ, if indeed we retain, unshaken to the end, the confidence that we had at the first.
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.
For if we keep the substance of the faith which we had at the start, even till the end, we have a part with Christ;
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 we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end;
Word-for-word swaps
- made→have
- unto→firm
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.