Hebrews 5:14 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.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
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.
But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
but solid food belongs to full-grown men, who, on account of habit, have their senses exercised for distinguishing both good and evil.
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 of perfect men is the strong food, who because of the use are having the senses exercised, unto the discernment both of good and of evil.
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.
But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
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.
But solid food is for Christians of mature faith – those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish right from wrong.
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.
But solid food is for men of full growth, even for those whose senses are trained by use to see what is good and what is evil.
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.
But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→solid
- those→grown
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.