Psalms 149:9 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.
To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
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.
To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah. Psalm 150
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
To execute upon them the judgment written. This honour have all his saints. Hallelujah!
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
To do among them the judgment written, An honour it is for all his saints. Praise ye Jah!
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.
to execute on them the written judgment. All his saints have this honor. Praise Yah!
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.
to execute on them the doom that is written. This is the glory of all his faithful. Hallelujah.
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.
To give them the punishment which is in the holy writings: this honour is given to all his saints. Praise be to the Lord.
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.
To execute on them the written: judgment. all his saints. have this honor. Praise Yah!
Word-for-word swaps
- upon→on
- have→judgment
- LORD→Yah
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.