Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Wisdom of Solomon 10:12 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

She defended him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those that lay in wait, and in a sore conflict she gave him the victory; that he might know that goodness is stronger than all.

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

She guarded him from enemies, And from those that lay in wait she kept him safe, And over his sore conflict she watched as judge, That he might know that godliness is more powerful than all.

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.

She guarded him from enemies, and from those that lay in wait, she kept him safe, and over his sore conflict she watched as judge, that he might know that godliness is more powerful than all.

Word-for-word swaps

  • defendedguarded
  • aover
  • victorywatched
  • goodnessgodliness
  • strongermore

The verses either side

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

11In the covetousness of such as oppressed him she stood by him, and made him rich.
12She defended him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those that lay in wait, and in a sore conflict she gave him the victory; that he might know that goodness is stronger than all.
13When the righteous was sold, she forsook him not, but delivered him from sin: she went down with him into the pit,

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.