Psalms 19:6 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.
His going forth from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
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.
His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
From the end of the heavens is his going out, And his revolution is unto their ends, And nothing is hid from his heat.
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.
His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends; There is nothing hidden from its heat.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
From one end of the heavens it rises, and around it runs to the other, and nothing hides from its heat.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
From one end of the heavens it rises, and round it runs to the other, and nothing hides from its heat.
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.
His going out is from the end of the heaven, and his circle to the ends of it; there is nothing which is not open to his heat.
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.
His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends there is nothing hidden from its heat
Word-for-word swaps
- forth→out
- and→heavens
- the→to
- hid→hidden
- the→its
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.