Romans 3:30 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.
Seeing one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
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.
if so be that God is one, and he shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
since indeed [it is] one God who shall justify [the] circumcision on the principle of faith, and uncircumcision by faith.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
yes, also of nations; since one is God who shall declare righteous the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through the faith.
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.
since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.
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.
Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is only one God, and he will pronounce those who are circumcised righteous as the result of faith, and also those who are uncircumcised on their showing the same faith.
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.
If God is one; and he will give righteousness because of faith to those who have circumcision, and through faith to those who have not circumcision.
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.
since indeed there is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.
Word-for-word swaps
- Seeing→since
- shall→who
- circumcision→circumcised
- uncircumcision→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.