Psalms 91:15 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.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
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.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
He doth call Me, and I answer him, I am with him in distress, I deliver him, and honour him.
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.
He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
I will answer their cry and be with them in trouble, bringing them forth into safety and honor.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
I will answer their cry and be with them in trouble, bringing them forth into safety and honour.
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.
When his cry comes up to me, I will give him an answer: I will be with him in trouble; I will make him free from danger and give him 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.
He will call on me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→will
- upon→on
- honour→honor
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.