Psalms 5:3 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 voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct unto thee, and will look up.
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.
O Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; In the morning will I order [my prayer] unto thee, and will keep watch.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I address myself to thee, and will look up.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Jehovah, at morning Thou hearest my voice, At morning I set in array for Thee, And I look out.
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.
Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.
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.
When I pray to you, Lord, in the morning, hear my voice. I make ready for you in the morning, and look for a sign.
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.
My voice will come to you in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I send my prayer to you, and keep watch.
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.
Yahweh, in the morning, you shall hear my voice. in the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.
Word-for-word swaps
- hear→Yahweh
- LORD→you
- thee→will
- up→watch
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.