Translation comparison

Tobit 4:5 in 2 translations

2 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.

Read with nearby context Open chapter 4

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

My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin, or to transgress his commandments: do uprightly all thy life long, and follow not the ways of unrighteousness.

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

My child, be mindful of the Lord our God all your days, and don’t let your will be set to sin and to transgress his commandments: do righteousness all the days of your life, and don’t follow the ways of unrighteousness.

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.

My child, be mindful of the Lord our God all your days, and don’t let your will be set to sin, and to transgress his commandments: do righteousness all the days of your life and don’t follow the ways of unrighteousness.

Word-for-word swaps

son→child
thy→your
or→and
uprightly→righteousness
thy→the

The verses either side

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

4Remember, my son, that she saw many dangers for thee, when thou wast in her womb: and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave.

5My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin, or to transgress his commandments: do uprightly all thy life long, and follow not the ways of unrighteousness.

6For if thou deal truly, thy doings shall prosperously succeed to thee, and to all them that live justly.

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.