Romans 9:25 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.
As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
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.
As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
As he says also in Hosea, I will call not-my-people My people; and the-not-beloved Beloved.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
as also in Hosea He saith, `I will call what is not My people--My people; and her not beloved--Beloved,
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.
As he says also in Hosea, “I will call them ‘my people,’ which were not my people; and her ‘beloved,’ who was not beloved.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
This, indeed, is what he says in the book of Hosea – ‘Those who were not my people, I will call my people, and those who were unloved I will love.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
This, indeed, is what he says in the book of Hosea – “Those who were not my people, I will call my people, and those who were unloved I will love.
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.
As he says in Hosea, They will be named my people who were not my people, and she will be loved who was not loved.
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.
As he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people,’ which were not my people; and her ‘beloved,’ who was not beloved.
Word-for-word swaps
- saith→says
- Osee→Hosea
- which→beloved
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.