Romans 9:32 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.
Wherefore? Because not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
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.
Wherefore? Because [they sought it] not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Wherefore? Because [it was] not on the principle of faith, but as of works. They have stumbled at the stumblingstone,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
wherefore? because--not by faith, but as by works of law; for they did stumble at the stone of stumbling,
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.
Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
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.
And why? Because they looked to obedience, and not to faith, to secure it. They stumbled over the stumbling-block.
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.
Why? Because they were not searching for it by faith, but by works. They came up against the stone which was in the way;
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.
Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. they stumbled over the stumbling stone;
Word-for-word swaps
- Wherefore→Why
- not→they
- stumblingstone→over
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.