Zechariah 14:11 in 8 translations
7 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.
And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
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.
And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more curse; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And [men] shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; and Jerusalem shall dwell safely.
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 they have dwelt in her, And destruction is no more, And Jerusalem hath dwelt confidently.
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.
Men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Jerusalem will be inhabited, for never again will it be doomed to destruction, and its people will abide in security.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
And there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will be living without fear of danger.
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.
men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→will
- it→therein
- destruction→curse
- be→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.