Psalms 16:11 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.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence fulness of joy; at thy right hand pleasures 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.
Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 17 A Prayer of David.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life: thy countenance is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures 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.
Thou causest me to know the path of life; Fulness of joys is with Thy presence, Pleasant things by Thy right hand for ever!
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.
You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures 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.
You will show me the path that leads to life, to that fulness of joy which is in your presence, and the pleasures dispensed by your hand evermore.
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.
You will make clear to me the way of life; where you are joy is complete; in your right hand there are pleasures for ever and 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.
You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
Word-for-word swaps
- shew→You
- thy→your
- fulness→is
- thy→In
- 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.