Psalms 71:20 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.
which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
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.
Thou, who hast showed us many and sore troubles, Wilt quicken us again, And wilt bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Thou, who hast shewn us many and sore troubles, wilt revive us again, and wilt bring us up again from the depths of the earth;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Because Thou hast showed me many and sad distresses, Thou turnest back--Thou revivest me, And from the depths of the earth, Thou turnest back--Thou bringest me up.
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.
You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
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.
You have caused us to see troubles many, but you will revive us again. From the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
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.
You, who have sent great and bitter troubles on me, will give me life again, lifting me up from the deep waters of the underworld.
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.
You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
Word-for-word swaps
- great→You
- sore→bitter
- quicken→you
- shalt→live
- me→us
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.