Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Sirach 20:20 in 1 translation

Every translation here words this verse identically, which is itself worth knowing — there is no interpretive fork to weigh.

Early modern English

Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.

King James Version
KJV

A wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool’s mouth; for he will not speak it in due season.

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

19An unseasonable tale will always be in the mouth of the unwise.
20A wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool’s mouth; for he will not speak it in due season.
21There is that is hindered from sinning through want: and when he taketh rest, he shall not be troubled.

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, World English Bible, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.