Psalms 44:1 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.
We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
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.
We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, What work thou didst in their days, In the days of old.
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. Of the sons of Korah. An instruction.} O God, with our ears have we heard, our fathers have told us, the work thou wroughtest in their days, in the days of old:
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. --By sons of Korah. An Instruction. O God, with our ears we have heard, Our fathers have recounted to us, The work Thou didst work in their days, In the days of old.
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.
We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
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.
O God, we have heard with our ears, all our ancestors have told us of the work that you wrought in their day, your wonders in days of old,
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.
<To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.> It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,
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.
We have heard with our ears, God, our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
Word-for-word swaps
- didst→you
- times→days
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.