Numbers 2:32 in 6 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.
These those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
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 are they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers` houses: all that were numbered of the camps according to their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
These are those that were numbered of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses: all those that were numbered of the camps, according to their hosts, were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
These are those numbered of the sons of Israel by the house of their fathers; all those numbered of the camps by their hosts are six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty.
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 are those who were counted of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. All who were counted of the camps according to their armies were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
These are all who were numbered of the children of Israel, in the order of their fathers' families: all the armies in their tents together came to six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty.
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.
These are those who were counted of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. all who were counted of the camps according to their armies were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
Word-for-word swaps
- which→who
- numbered→counted
- fathers→fathers’
- that→who
- throughout→according
- hosts→armies
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.
Not shown for this verse: Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth). Those translations are still incomplete in the corpus, and empty cards are not padded in.