Psalms 17:15 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 for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
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.
As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with [beholding] thy form. Psalm 18 For the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David the servant of Jehovah, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he said,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
I--in righteousness, I see Thy face; I am satisfied, in awaking, with Thy form!
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.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
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.
In my innocence I will see your face, awake I am filled with a vision of you.
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.
As for me, I will see your face in righteousness: when I am awake it will be joy enough for me to see your form.
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.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
Word-for-word swaps
- thy→shall
- likeness→seeing
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.