Hebrews 8:13 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.
In that he saith, A new he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old ready to vanish away.
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.
In that he saith, A new [covenant] he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
In that he says New, he has made the first old; but that which grows old and aged [is] near disappearing.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
in the saying `new,' He hath made the first old, and what doth become obsolete and is old is nigh disappearing.
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.
In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
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.
By speaking of a new covenant, God at once renders the former covenant obsolete; and whatever becomes obsolete and loses its force is virtually annulled.
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.
When he says, A new agreement, he has made the first agreement old. But anything which is getting old and past use will not be seen much longer.
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.
In that he says, A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Word-for-word swaps
- saith→says
- hath→has
- Now→But
- waxeth→is
- ready→and
- vanish→vanishing
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.