Zechariah 1:9 in 8 translations
8 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.
Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these are.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And I said, My lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these are.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
And I say, `What are these, my lord?' And the messenger who is speaking with me saith unto me, `I--I do shew thee what these are.'
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
Then I asked, ‘My lord, what are these?’” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Then said I, “My Lord, what are these?” And the messenger who was talking with me said, “I will show you what they are.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Then said I, ‘My Lord, what are these?’ And the messenger who was talking with me said, ‘I will show you what they are.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
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.
Then I, asked, my lord, what are these?’” the angel who talked with me said to me, I will show you what these are.”
Word-for-word swaps
- O→asked
- And→these
- that→who
- unto→to
- thee→show
- be→are
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.