Psalms 22:8 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.
He trusted on the LORD he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
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.
Commit [thyself] unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Commit it to Jehovah let him rescue him; let him deliver him, because he delighteth in him!
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Roll unto Jehovah, He doth deliver him, He doth deliver him, for he delighted in him.'
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.
“He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“He relies on the Lord; let him save him. Let him rescue the one he holds dear!”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘He relies on the Lord; let him save him. Let him rescue the one he holds dear!’
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.
He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him.
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.
He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him: let him rescue him, since he delights in him.
Word-for-word swaps
- would→trusts
- deliver→rescue
- seeing→since
- delighted→delights
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.