Revelation 2:22 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.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
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.
Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
lo, I will cast her into a couch, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation--if they may not repent of their works,
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.
Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works.
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.
Therefore I am laying her on a bed of sickness, and bringing great suffering on those who are unfaithful with her, unless they repent and turn from a life like hers.
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.
See, I will put her into a bed, and those who make themselves unclean with her, into great trouble, if they go on with her works.
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.
Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works.
Word-for-word swaps
- cast→throw
- that→those
- except→oppression
- deeds→her
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.