Hebrews 5:2 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.
Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
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.
who can bear gently with the ignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
being able to exercise forbearance towards the ignorant and erring, since he himself also is clothed with infirmity;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
able to be gentle to those ignorant and going astray, since himself also is compassed with infirmity;
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.
The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
And he is able to sympathize with the ignorant and deluded, since he is himself subject to weakness,
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
And he is able to sympathise with the ignorant and deluded, since he is himself subject to weakness,
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.
He is able to have feeling for those who have no knowledge and for those who are wandering from the true way, because he himself is feeble;
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.
the high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant, and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→going
- compassed→also
- infirmity→weakness
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.