Psalms 30:1 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.
I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
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.
I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
{A Psalm of David: dedication-song of the house.} I will extol thee, Jehovah; for thou hast delivered me, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
A Psalm. --A song of the dedication of the house of David. I exalt Thee, O Jehovah, For Thou hast drawn me up, and hast not let mine enemies rejoice over me.
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.
I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
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.
I will extol you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up, and not suffered my foes to rejoice over me.
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.
<A Psalm. A Song at the blessing of the House. Of David.> I will give you praise and honour, O Lord, because through you I have been lifted up; you have not given my haters cause to be glad over me.
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.
I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Word-for-word swaps
- LORD→you
- lifted→you
- hast→have
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.