Psalms 38:12 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.
They also that seek after my life lay snares and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
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.
They also that seek after my life lay snares [for me]; And they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, And meditate deceits all the day long.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they that seek after my life lay snares [for me]; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all the day long.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
And those seeking my soul lay a snare, And those seeking my evil Have spoken mischievous things, And they do deceits meditate all the day.
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.
They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
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.
They who aim at my life lay their snares, they who seek my hurt speak of ruin, nursing treachery all the day long.
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.
Those who have a desire to take my life put nets for me; those who are designing my destruction say evil things against me, all the day their minds are full of deceit.
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.
They also who seek after my life lay snares Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→who
- that→Those
- imagine→meditate
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.