James 2:25 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.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent out another way?
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 in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But was not in like manner also Rahab the harlot justified on the principle of works, when she had received the messengers and put [them] forth by another way?
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 in like manner also Rahab the harlot--was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth?
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 the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?
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.
Wasn’t it the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was she not justified by her actions, after she had welcomed the messengers and helped them escape by another road?
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.
And in the same way, was not the righteousness of Rahab, the loose woman, judged by her works, when she took into her house those who were sent and let them go out by another way?
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 the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?
Word-for-word swaps
- not→In
- harlot→prostitute
- when→in
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.