Acts 10:2 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.
A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
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.
a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
pious, and fearing God with all his house, [both] giving much alms to the people, and supplicating God continually,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
pious, and fearing God with all his house, doing also many kind acts to the people, and beseeching God always,
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.
a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God.
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.
A religious man and one who reverenced God, with all his household. He was liberal in his charities to the people, and prayed to God constantly.
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.
A serious-minded man, fearing God with all his family; he gave much money to the poor, and made prayer to God at all times.
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.
A devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God
Word-for-word swaps
- that→who
- which→who
- alms→gifts
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.