Romans 11:15 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 if the casting away of them the reconciling of the world, what the receiving but life from the dead?
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 if the casting away of them [is] the reconciling of the world, what [shall] the receiving [of them be], but life from the dead?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For if their casting away [be the] world's reconciliation, what [their] reception but life from among [the] dead?
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 if the casting away of them is a reconciliation of the world, what the reception--if not life out of the dead?
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 if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?
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, if their being cast aside has meant the reconciliation of the world, what will their reception mean, but life from the dead?
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.
For, if by their putting away, the rest of men have been made friends with God, what will their coming back again be, but life from the dead?
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 if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?
Word-for-word swaps
- away→rejection
- receiving→would
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.