Zechariah 14:20 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.
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
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.
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLY UNTO JEHOVAH; and the pots in Jehovah`s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO JEHOVAH; and the pots in Jehovah's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
In that day there is on bells of the horse, `Holy to Jehovah,' And the pots in the house of Jehovah Have been as bowls before the altar.
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.
In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
On that day there will be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, ‘Holy to the Lord’ and the pots in the house of the Lord will be as holy as the sacrificial bowls before the altars.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
On that day there will be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord” and the pots in the house of the Lord will be as holy as the sacrificial bowls before the altars.
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.
On that day all the bells of the horses will be holy to the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house will be like the basins before the altar.
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.
In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar.
Word-for-word swaps
- upon→on
- LORD→HOLY
- LORD’S→Yahweh’s
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.