Romans 15:20 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.
Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:
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.
yea, making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was [already] named, that I might not build upon another man`s foundation;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and so aiming to announce the glad tidings, not where Christ has been named, that I might not build upon another's foundation;
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 so counting it honour to proclaim good news, not where Christ was named--that upon another's foundation I might not build--
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.
yes, making it my aim to preach the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another’s foundation.
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.
yet always with the ambition to tell the good news where Christ’s name had not previously been heard, so as to avoid building on another’s foundations.
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.
Making it my purpose not to take the good news where Christ was named, so that my work might not be resting on that of others;
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.
yes, making it my aim to preach the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another’s foundation:
Word-for-word swaps
- strived→yes
- gospel→Good
- lest→that
- should→might
- man’s→on
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.