Psalms 42:10 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.
with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where thy God?
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.
As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
As with a crushing in my bones mine adversaries reproach me, while they say unto me all the day, Where is thy God?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
With a sword in my bones Have mine adversaries reproached me, In their saying unto me all the day, `Where is thy God?'
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.
As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
It pierces me to the heart to hear the enemy’s taunts, as all the day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
It pierces me to the heart to hear the enemy’s taunts, as all the day long they say to me, ‘Where is your God?’
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.
The cruel words of my haters are like a crushing of my bones; when they say to me every day, Where is your God?
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.
As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me; while they continually ask me, Where is your God?
Word-for-word swaps
- enemies→my
- unto→continually
- thy→is
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.