Psalms 45:1 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.
My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue the pen of a ready writer.
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.
My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
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. Upon Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. An instruction; a song of the Beloved.} My heart is welling forth [with] a good matter: I say what I have composed touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
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. --`On the Lilies.' --By sons of Korah. --An Instruction. --A song of loves. My heart hath indited a good thing, I am telling my works to a king, My tongue is the pen of a speedy writer.
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.
My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
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.
My heart is astir with beautiful words: I will sing a song, concerning the king, with tongue like the pen of a ready writer.
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; put to Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. Maschil. A Song of loves.> My heart is flowing over with good things; my words are of that which I have made for a king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
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.
My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king: my tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
Word-for-word swaps
- inditing→overflows
- which→noble
- touching→recite
- ready→skillful
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.