Psalms 119:132 in 8 translations
8 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.
Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
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.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me, As thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Turn unto me, and be gracious unto me, as thou art wont to do unto those that love thy name.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Look unto me, and favour me, As customary to those loving Thy name.
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.
Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Turn to me with your favor, as is just to those who love you.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Turn to me with your favour, as is just to those who love you.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Let your eyes be turned to me, and have mercy on me, as it is right for you to do to those who are lovers of your name.
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.
Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.
Word-for-word swaps
- upon→Turn
- unto→have
- to→you
- unto→to
- that→who
- thy→your
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.