Psalms 4:1 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.
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
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.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness; Thou hast set me at large [when I was] in distress: Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
{To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.} When I call, answer me, O God of my righteousness: in pressure thou hast enlarged me; be gracious unto me, and hear my prayer.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
To the Overseer with Stringed Instruments. --A Psalm of David. In my calling answer Thou me, O God of my righteousness. In adversity Thou gavest enlargement to me; Favour me, and hear my prayer.
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.
Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Answer my cry, God, my defender. Often from straits you have brought me to spacious places. So now show me your favor and hear my prayer.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Answer my cry, God, my defender. Often from straits you have brought me to spacious places. So now show me your favour and hear my prayer.
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.
<To the chief music-maker on corded instruments. A Psalm. Of David.> Give answer to my cry, O God of my righteousness; make me free from my troubles; have mercy on me, and give ear to my prayer.
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.
Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness: Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
Word-for-word swaps
- Hear→Answer
- enlarged→Give
- in→relief
- upon→on
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.