Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Wisdom of Solomon 7:14 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

For she is a treasure unto men that never faileth: which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts that come from learning.

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

For she is to men a treasure that fails not, And those who use it obtain friendship with God, Commended to him by the gifts which they through discipline present to him.

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.

For she is to men a treasure that fails not, And those who use it obtain friendship with God, commended to him by the gifts which they through discipline present to him.

Word-for-word swaps

  • thatfails
  • ofit
  • forto
  • learningwhich

The verses either side

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

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.