James 2:19 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.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
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.
Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
*Thou* believest that God is one. Thou doest well. The demons even believe, and tremble.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
thou--thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder!
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.
You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.
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.
It is a part of your faith, is it not, that there is one God? Good; yet even the demons have that faith, and tremble at the thought.
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.
You have the belief that God is one, and you do well: the evil spirits have the same belief, shaking with fear.
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.
You believe that God is one You do well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
Word-for-word swaps
- believest→You
- there→God
- doest→You
- devils→demons
- tremble→shudder
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.