Psalms 5:12 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.
For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as a shield.
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.
For thou wilt bless the righteous; O Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield. Psalm 6 For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For thou, Jehovah, wilt bless the righteous [man]; with favour wilt thou surround him as [with] a shield.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
For Thou blessest the righteous, O Jehovah, As a buckler with favour dost compass him!
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.
For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For you give your blessing, Lord, to the godly, and the shield of your favor protects them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For you give your blessing, Lord, to the godly, and the shield of your favour protects them.
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.
For you, Lord, will send a blessing on the upright man; your grace will be round him, and you will be his strength.
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.
For you will bless the righteous; Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.
Word-for-word swaps
- wilt→you
- compass→Yahweh
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.