Psalms 56:1 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.
Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
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.
Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: All the day long he fighting oppresseth me.
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 Jonathelem-rechokim. Of David. Michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath.} Be gracious unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: all the day long fighting he oppresseth me.
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 Dumb Dove far off.' --A secret treasure of David, in the Philistines' taking hold of him in Gath. Favour me, O God, for man swallowed me up, All the day fighting he oppresseth me,
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.
Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.
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, be gracious to me, for people trample upon me, all the day righting and pressing me.
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 Jonath elem rehokim. Of David. Michtam. When the Philistines took him in Gath.> Have mercy on me, O God, for man is attempting my destruction; every day he makes cruel attacks against me.
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.
Be merciful to me, God: for man wants to swallow me up; All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- would→wants
- oppresseth→attacks
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.