Psalms 35:10 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.
All my bones shall say, LORD, who like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth 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.
All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto thee, Who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, Yea, the poor and the needy from him that robbeth him?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto thee, who deliverest the afflicted from one stronger than he, yea, the afflicted and the needy from him that spoileth 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.
All my bones say, `Jehovah, who is like Thee, Delivering the poor from the stronger than he, And the poor and needy from his plunderer.'
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.
All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs 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.
and all my being will say, “Who, O Lord, is like you, who save the helpless from those too strong for them, the poor and the helpless from those who despoil them?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
and all my being will say, ‘Who, O Lord, is like you, who save the helpless from those too strong for them, the poor and the helpless from those who despoil them?’
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.
All my bones will say, Lord, who is like you? The saviour of the poor man from the hands of the strong, of him who is poor and in need from him who takes his goods.
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.
All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?
Word-for-word swaps
- LORD→Yahweh
- deliverest→you
- that→who
- yea→yes
- spoileth→who
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.