Hebrews 7:8 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 here men that die receive tithes; but there he of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
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 here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And here dying men receive tithes; but there [one] of whom the witness is that he lives;
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 here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes, and there he, who is testified to that he was living,
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.
Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives.
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.
In the one case the tithes are received by people who are mortal; in the other case by one about whom there is the statement that his life still continues.
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.
Now at the present time, men over whom death has power take the tenth; but then it was taken by one of whom it is witnessed that he is living.
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.
here people who die receive tithes; but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→people
- he→one
- witnessed→testified
- liveth→lives
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.