diff --git a/version_string.sh b/version_string.sh
index 2f9cac3f..2035ee09 100755
--- a/version_string.sh
+++ b/version_string.sh
@@ -115,11 +115,11 @@ if [ -n "$dirty" ] && ! $allow_modified; then
 fi
 
 # Use the "git describe" command to form the version string and append $dirty.
-# This ugly construction is required for use on machines with bash version 3.
+# This ugly construction is required for use on machines with bash version < 4.
 error="$(git describe --match="$version_tag_glob" 2>&1 1>/dev/null)" || true
 
 if [ -z "$error" ]; then
-   echo "$(git describe --match="$version_tag_glob")"$dirty
+   echo "$(git describe --match="$version_tag_glob")$dirty"
    exit 0
 fi