Psalms 133:3 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.
As the dew of Hermon, that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, life for evermore.
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.
Like the dew of Hermon, That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion: For there Jehovah commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore. Psalm 134 A Song of Ascents.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
As the dew of Hermon that descendeth on the mountains of Zion; for there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
As dew of Hermon--That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing--Life unto the age!
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.
like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion: for there Yahweh gives the blessing, even life forever more.
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.
like the dew upon Hermon which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there has the Lord ordained blessing – life that is endless.
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.
Like the dew of Hermon, which comes down on the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord gave orders for the blessing, even life for ever.
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.
like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion: for there Yahweh gives the blessing, even life forever more.
Word-for-word swaps
- As→like
- upon→comes
- mountains→hills
- commanded→Yahweh
- evermore→forever
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.