Psalms 71:13 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.
Let them be confounded consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
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.
Let them be put to shame [and] consumed that are adversaries to my soul; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Let them be ashamed, let them be consumed, that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
They are ashamed, they are consumed, Who are opposing my soul, They are covered with reproach and blushing, Who are seeking my evil,
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.
Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm 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.
Put my foes to shame and dishonor, with insult and shame be they covered.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Put my foes to shame and dishonour, with insult and shame be they covered.
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.
Let those who say evil against my soul be overcome and put to shame; let my haters be made low and have no honour.
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.
Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.
Word-for-word swaps
- them→my
- confounded→disappointed
- reproach→with
- hurt→scorn
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.