Romans 11:7 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.
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
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.
What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
What [is it] then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
What then? What Israel doth seek after, this it did not obtain, and the chosen did obtain, and the rest were hardened,
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.
What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
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.
What follows from this? Why, that Israel as a nation failed to secure what it was seeking, while those whom God selected did secure it.
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.
What then? That which Israel was searching for he did not get, but those of the selection got it and the rest were made hard.
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.
What then? that which Israel seeks for; that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
Word-for-word swaps
- seeketh→Israel
- hath→chosen
- blinded→hardened
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.