Romans 10:12 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.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon 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.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For there is no difference of Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all [is] rich towards all that call upon 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.
for there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of all is rich to all those calling upon 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.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
For no distinction is made between the Jew and the Greek, for all have the same Lord, and he is bountiful to all who invoke him.
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 the Jew is not different from the Greek: for there is the same Lord of all, who is good to all who have hope in his name:
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 there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all and is rich to all who call on him.
Word-for-word swaps
- difference→distinction
- over→is
- unto→to
- that→who
- upon→on
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.