Nahum 1:8 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.
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
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.
But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
And with a flood passing over, An end He maketh of its place, And His enemies doth darkness pursue.
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.
But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
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.
With rushing flood an end he makes of those who rise against him, he drives his enemies into darkness.
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.
But like water overflowing he will take them away; he will put an end to those who come up against him, driving his haters into the dark.
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.
But with an overflowing flood he will make a full end of her place and will pursue his enemies. into darkness.
Word-for-word swaps
- overrunning→overflowing
- utter→a
- the→her
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.