Mark 13:19 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.
For those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
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.
For those days shall be tribulation, such as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
for those days shall be distress such as there has not been the like since [the] beginning of creation which God created, until now, and never shall be;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for those days shall be tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the creation that God created, till now, and may not be;
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.
For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.
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.
For those days will be a time of distress, the like of which has not occurred from the beginning of God’s creation until now – and never will again.
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.
For in those days there will be sorrow, such as there has not been from the time when God made the world till now, and will not ever be again.
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.
For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→there
- affliction→oppression
- was→there
- shall→until
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.