Psalms 71:6 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.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise continually of thee.
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.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb; Thou art he that took me out of my mother`s bowels: My praise shall be continually of thee.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
On thee have I been stayed from the womb; from the bowels of my mother thou didst draw me forth: my praise shall be continually of thee.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
By Thee I have been supported from the womb, From my mother's bowels Thou dost cut me out, In Thee is my praise continually.
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.
I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.
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.
On you have I leaned from my birth; from my mother’s womb it was you who did draw me. In you is my hope evermore.
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 have been my support from the day of my birth; you took me out of my mother's body; my praise will be ever of you.
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.
I have relied on you from the womb: You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.
Word-for-word swaps
- up→have
- art→You
- that→who
- my→womb
- thee→you
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.