Romans 1:17 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.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
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.
For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
for righteousness of God is revealed therein, on the principle of faith, to faith: according as it is written, But the just shall live by faith.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, `And the righteous one by faith shall live,'
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.
For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For in it there is a revelation of the divine righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as scripture says – ‘Through faith the righteous will find life.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For in it there is a revelation of the divine righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as scripture says – “Through faith the righteous will find life.”
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.
For in it there is the revelation of the righteousness of God from faith to faith: as it is said in the holy Writings, The man who does righteousness will be living by his faith.
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.
For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith: as it is written, “But The righteous shall live by faith.
Word-for-word swaps
- therein→in
- just→righteous
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.