Hosea 5:4 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.
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
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.
Their doings will not suffer them to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not Jehovah.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Their doings do not allow them to return unto their God; for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they know not Jehovah.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
They give not up their habitual doings, To turn back unto their God, For a spirit of whoredoms is in their midst, And Jehovah they have not known.
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.
Their deeds won’t allow them to turn to their God; for the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they don’t know Yahweh.
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.
Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of prostitution is within them, they do not know the Lord.
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.
Their works will not let them come back to their God, for a false spirit is in them and they have no knowledge of the Lord.
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.
their deeds won’t allow them to turn to their God: for the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they don’t know Yahweh.
Word-for-word swaps
- doings→deeds
- unto→to
- whoredoms→prostitution
- of→within
- LORD→don’t
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.