Acts 1:22 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.
Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
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.
beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day in which he was received up from us, one of these to become with us a witness of his rising again.'
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.
beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
from his baptism by John down to that day on which he was taken from us – someone must be found to join us as a witness of his resurrection.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
from his baptism by John down to that day on which he was taken from us – someone must be found to join us as a witness of his resurrection.’
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.
Starting from the baptism of John till he went up from us, one will have to be a witness with us of his coming back from death.
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.
Beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
Word-for-word swaps
- same→to
- taken→received
- must→of
- be→must
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.