Hebrews 3:18 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.
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
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 to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to those who had not hearkened to the word?
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 to whom did He swear that they shall not enter into His rest, except to those who did not believe? --
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.
To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
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.
And who were they to whom God swore that they should not enter upon his rest, if not those who had proved faithless?
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.
And to whom did he make an oath that they might not come into his rest? was it not to those who went against his orders?
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.
to whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
Word-for-word swaps
- sware→did
- not→wouldn’t
- not→those
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.