Bible Verse Comparison: Compare Translations Side by Side
Pick any chapter or verse range and read it in the King James Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, and World English Bible at the same time — so you can see exactly where the wording agrees and where translators made different choices. Want the big picture first? Jump to the Bible translations chart.
Loading…
Bible translations chart: word-for-word to paraphrase
English Bibles sit on a spectrum. At one end are word-for-word translations that stay close to the original Hebrew and Greek sentence structure. At the other end are thought-for-thought translations and paraphrases that prioritize smooth, modern English. This chart lists twelve widely used versions in rough order from most literal to most free. The ordering is an approximation, since scholars place some of these differently.
| Translation | First published | Approach | In this tool? |
|---|---|---|---|
| YLT (Young’s Literal Translation) | 1862; revised 1887 and 1898 (1898 text used here) | Strictly literal, following the original grammar and tenses closely | Yes — compare above |
| NASB (New American Standard Bible) | 1971; revised 1977, 1995, 2020 | Formal equivalence (literal) | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| ESV (English Standard Version) | 2001 | “Essentially literal” (word-for-word) | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| KJV (King James Version) | 1611 (standard 1769 text used here) | Formal equivalence (word-for-word) | Yes — compare above |
| NKJV (New King James Version) | 1982 | Formal equivalence; updates the KJV language | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| ASV (American Standard Version) | 1901 | American revision of the English Revised Version, itself a revision of the KJV | Yes — compare above |
| WEB (World English Bible) | Draft 1997; completed 2020 | Mostly formal equivalence; a modern-English update of the ASV | Yes — compare above |
| NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) | 1989; updated edition 2021 | “As literal as possible, as free as necessary” | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| CSB (Christian Standard Bible) | 2017 (replaces the 2004 HCSB) | “Optimal equivalence”: a blend of literal and readable | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| NIV (New International Version) | 1978; revised 1984, 2011 | A balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| NLT (New Living Translation) | 1996; revised 2004 and later | Thought-for-thought (dynamic equivalence) | Copyrighted — not shown here |
| The Message | 2002 | Paraphrase | Copyrighted — not shown here |
Publication years and approaches come from the sources below. Only public-domain translations can be shown in full, so the comparison tool above covers the KJV, ASV, YLT, and WEB. Not sure which version fits you? Try the Bible Translation Finder.
Sources: Wikipedia articles on the KJV, ASV, YLT, WEB, NASB, ESV, NKJV, NRSV, CSB, NIV, NLT, and The Message; Britannica on the ASV.
Why compare translations?
No English Bible is a perfect one-to-one copy of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek it came from. Every translator decides how literally to follow the original word order, how to handle idioms, and what to do when a word has no neat English equivalent. Putting several translations next to each other is the quickest way to see those decisions — and to notice when a phrase you've always read one way reads differently elsewhere.
The four translations in this tool are all in the public domain, which is why they can be shown in full for any passage. The King James Version (this tool uses the standard 1769 text) is the long-standing benchmark. The American Standard Version (1901) revised it with a stricter word-for-word approach. Young's Literal Translation (1898) pushes literalism further still, keeping Hebrew and Greek tenses even when the English sounds unusual. The World English Bible is a modern-English update of the ASV, so it's a good bridge if the older wording is hard going.
Modern translations such as the NIV, ESV, NLT, and NKJV are not offered here because they are under copyright. Short quotations from them appear on our Bible verse pages, and the Bible Translation Finder can help you choose among them. For the original-language words behind any verse, look up the entries in our Strong's Concordance.
The King James Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, and World English Bible are in the public domain.
Frequently asked questions
Which Bible translation is the most accurate?
There isn't one answer, because translators balance two goals that pull against each other: staying close to the original words and phrasing, and reading naturally in English. The Young's Literal Translation sits at the very literal end, the KJV and ASV are traditional word-for-word translations, and the World English Bible is a modern-English update of the ASV. Reading a passage in several of them at once is one of the best ways to see where the original wording is clear and where translators had to make a judgment call.
What is the difference between word-for-word and thought-for-thought Bible translations?
Word-for-word (formal equivalence) translations such as the KJV, NASB, and ESV follow the structure and word order of the original languages as closely as English allows. Thought-for-thought (dynamic equivalence) translations such as the NIV and NLT aim to carry the meaning of each phrase into natural modern English, even if the wording shifts. Paraphrases such as The Message go furthest in restating the ideas freely. None of these approaches is wrong; they serve different purposes, and comparing several side by side is a good way to see the difference.
Why aren't the NIV, ESV, NLT, or NKJV included?
Those translations are under copyright, and their publishers only permit short quotations. That's why they appear as hand-picked verses on our Bible verse pages but can't be offered here, where you can look up any passage you like. The four translations in this tool are in the public domain, so they can be shown in full. If you're trying to choose a modern translation for yourself, our Bible Translation Finder can help.
Why does this page say “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” instead of “the LORD”?
The Hebrew Old Testament has a personal name for God (four consonants, YHWH). The KJV follows the long Jewish and Christian tradition of printing it as “the LORD,” while the ASV and Young's Literal Translation render it “Jehovah” and the World English Bible renders it “Yahweh.” These are different ways of handling the same Hebrew name, not different texts.
Why does a verse show “Not in this translation’s text”?
A small number of New Testament verses (for example Matthew 17:21 or Acts 8:37) appear in the KJV but are left out of the ASV and WEB, because those translations follow older Greek manuscripts that don't contain them. The message marks a difference in the source text between translations. It isn't a missing piece of this page.
Can I compare more than one chapter at once?
One chapter at a time, up to 50 verses on screen. Pick a chapter and then a verse range, or type a reference like John 3:16-18, Psalm 23, or 1 Cor 13:4-7 into the box and press Go.
Explore the whole Calcs family here.
Let us know which one.
Let us know and we'll consider adding it.