James 4:5 in 8 translations
8 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.
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
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.
Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'
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.
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Do you suppose scripture means nothing when it says, ‘Envy results from the longings of the spirit which God has implanted within you?’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Do you suppose scripture means nothing when it says, “Envy results from the longings of the spirit which God has implanted within you?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?
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.
Or Do you think that the scripture says in vain, The spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- saith→says
- dwelleth→who
- envy→yearns
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.