Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Judith 3:6 in 2 translations

2 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.

King James Version
KJV

Then came he down toward the sea coast, both he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities, and took out of them chosen men for aid.

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

Modern English

Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.

World English Bible
WEB

He came down toward the sea coast, he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities, and took out of them chosen men for allies.

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

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 came down toward the sea coast, he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities, and took out of them chosen men for allies.

Word-for-word swaps

  • aidallies

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

5So the men came to Holofernes, and declared unto him after this manner.
6Then came he down toward the sea coast, both he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities, and took out of them chosen men for aid.
7So they and all the country round about received them with garlands, with dances, and with timbrels.

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.