Romans 5:2 in 8 translations
8 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.
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
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.
through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
by whom we have also access by faith into this favour in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
through whom also we have the access by the faith into this grace in which we have stood, and we boast on the hope of the glory of God.
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.
through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
It is through him that, by reason of our faith, we have obtained admission to that place in God’s favor in which we now stand. So let us exult in our hope of attaining God’s glorious ideal.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
It is through him that, by reason of our faith, we have obtained admission to that place in God’s favour in which we now stand. So let us exult in our hope of attaining God’s glorious ideal.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Through whom, in the same way, we have been able by faith to come to this grace in which we now are; and let us have joy in hope of the glory of God.
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.
through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand, We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Word-for-word swaps
- By→through
- wherein→in
- and→We
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.