Romans 1:28 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.
And even as they did not like to retain God in knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
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.
And even as they refused to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And according as they did not think good to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to practise unseemly things;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
And, according as they did not approve of having God in knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved mind, to do the things not seemly;
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.
Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
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.
Then, as they would not keep God before their minds, God abandoned them to depraved thoughts, so that they did all kinds of shameful things.
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.
And because they had not the mind to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an evil mind, to do those things which are not right;
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.
even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
Word-for-word swaps
- like→refused
- retain→have
- over→up
- convenient→fitting
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.