Acts 10:36 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.
The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
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.
The word which he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all.) --
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The word which he sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, (*he* is Lord of all things,)
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
the word that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming good news--peace through Jesus Christ (this one is Lord of all,)
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.
The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—
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.
God has sent his message to the Israelites and told them, through Jesus Christ, the good news of peace – and Jesus is Lord of all!
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.
The word which he sent to the children of Israel, giving the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all)--
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.
The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all:)
Word-for-word swaps
- God→he
- unto→to
- he→Christ
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.