Matthew 5:35 in 8 translations
6 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.
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
nor by the earth, because it is [the] footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is [the] city of the great King.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is a city of a great king,
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
or by the earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the Great King.
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.
Or by the earth, because it is the resting-place for his foot; or by Jerusalem, because it is the town of the great King.
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.
Nor by the earth; for it is the footstool: of his feet; nor by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Word-for-word swaps
- his→the
- neither→of
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.