Psalms 53:1 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.
The fool hath said in his heart, no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: none that doeth good.
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.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none that doeth good.
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. On Mahalath: an instruction. Of David.} The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God! They have corrupted themselves, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
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 a disease.' --An instruction, by David. A fool said in his heart, `There is no God.' They have done corruptly, Yea, they have done abominable iniquity, There is none doing good.
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.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Fools say in their heart, “There is no God.” Vile, hateful their life is; not one does good.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Fools say in their heart, ‘There is no God.’ Vile, hateful their life is; not one does good.
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.
<To the chief music-maker; put to Mahalath. Maschil. Of David.> The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good.
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.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God. they, are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity: There is no one who does good.
Word-for-word swaps
- hath→has
- doeth→There
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.