Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Tobit 1:10 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

And when we were carried away captives to Nineve, all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the Gentiles.

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

When I was carried away captive to Nineveh, all my kindred and my relatives ate of the bread of the Gentiles;

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.

when I was carried away captive to Nineveh, all my kindred and my relatives ate of the bread of the Gentiles.

Word-for-word swaps

  • wereI
  • captivescaptive
  • NineveNineveh
  • brethrenkindred
  • eatrelatives

The verses either side

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

9Furthermore, when I was come to the age of a man, I married Anna of mine own kindred, and of her I begat Tobias.
10And when we were carried away captives to Nineve, all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the Gentiles.
11But I kept myself from eating;

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.