Zephaniah 3:9 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.
For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
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.
For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
For then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, To call all of them by the name of Jehovah, To serve Him with one shoulder.
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.
For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name, to serve him shoulder to shoulder.
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.
For then I will purify the lips of all peoples, so that they will all call on the Lord’s name, to serve him with one accord.
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.
For then I will give the people a clean language, so that they may all make prayer to the Lord and be his servants with one mind.
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.
For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name to serve him shoulder to shoulder.
Word-for-word swaps
- to→will
- language→lips
- the→on
- consent→shoulder
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.