Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Susanna 1:26 in 2 translations

2 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.

King James Version
KJV

So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the privy door, to see what was done unto her.

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

Modern English

Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.

World English Bible
WEB

So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the side door, to see what had befallen her.

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

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.

So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the side door, to see what had befallen her.

Word-for-word swaps

  • privyside
  • untohad

The verses either side

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

25Then ran the one, and opened the garden door.
26So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the privy door, to see what was done unto her.
27But when the elders had declared their matter, the servants were greatly ashamed: for there was never such a report made of Susanna.

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