Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Judith 4:14 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

And Joacim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and they which ministered unto the Lord, had their loins girt with sackcloth, and offered the daily burnt offerings, with the vows and free gifts of the people,

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

And Joakim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and those who ministered to the Lord, had their loins dressed in sackcloth, and offered the continual burnt offering, the vows, and the free gifts of the people.

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.

And Joakim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and those who ministered to the Lord, had their loins dressed in sackcloth, and offered the continual burnt offering, the vows and the free gifts of the people,

Word-for-word swaps

  • JoacimJoakim
  • whichthose
  • untoto
  • withdressed
  • dailycontinual
  • withoffering

The verses either side

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

13So God heard their prayers, and looked upon their afflictions: for the people fasted many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.
14And Joacim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and they which ministered unto the Lord, had their loins girt with sackcloth, and offered the daily burnt offerings, with the vows and free gifts of the people,
15And had ashes on their mitres, and cried unto the Lord with all their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel graciously.

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.