Psalms 83:4 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.
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
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.
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
They say, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, and let the name of Israel be mentioned no more.
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 have said, `Come, And we cut them off from being a nation, And the name of Israel is not remembered any more.'
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.
“Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Come, let us wipe them out as a nation, so Israel’s name will be mentioned no more.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation, so Israel’s name will be mentioned no more.’
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.
They have said, Come, let us put an end to them as a nation; so that the name of Israel may go out of man's memory.
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.
Come, they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation; that the name of Israel may be remembered no more
Word-for-word swaps
- cut→they
- from→as
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.