Isaiah 25:11 in 6 translations
6 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 he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
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 he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth [his hands] to swim; but [Jehovah] will lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth them forth to swim; and he shall bring down their pride together with the plots of their hands.
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 he spread out his hands in its midst, As spread out doth the swimmer to swim; And He hath humbled his excellency With the machinations of his hands.
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.
He will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
And if he puts out his hands, like a man stretching out his hands in swimming, the Lord will make low his pride, however expert his designs.
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.
he will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim: but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands.
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→will
- forth→out
- midst→middle
- forth→it
- their→but
- spoils→craft
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.
Not shown for this verse: Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth). Those translations are still incomplete in the corpus, and empty cards are not padded in.