Psalms 106:43 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.
Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
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.
Many times did he deliver them; But they were rebellious in their counsel, And were brought low in their iniquity.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Often did he deliver them; but as for them they provoked [him] by their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquity.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Many times He doth deliver them, And they rebel in their counsel, And they are brought low in their iniquity.
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.
He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
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.
Many a time he saved them, but they rebelled at his counsel, and were brought low by their wrongdoing.
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.
Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.
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.
he rescued them; many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
Word-for-word swaps
- deliver→rescued
- with→were
- for→in
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.