Psalms 91:4 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.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shield and buckler.
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 will cover thee with his pinions, And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou find refuge: his truth is a shield and buckler.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
With His pinion He covereth thee over, And under His wings thou dost trust, A shield and buckler is His truth.
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 cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
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.
he shelters you with his pinions, and under his wings you can hide. His truth will be a shield and buckler.
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 will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation.
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 cover you with his feathers, under his wings you will take refuge. his faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→will
- thee→you
- trust→you
- truth→faithfulness
- buckler→rampart
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.