Acts 15:11 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.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
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.
But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But we believe that we shall be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same manner as they also.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe to be saved, even as also they.'
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.
But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
No, it is through the loving kindness of the Lord Jesus that we, just as they do, believe that we have been saved.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
No, it is through the loving kindness of the Lord Jesus that we, just as they do, believe that we have been saved.’
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.
But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.
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.
But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus just as they. are.”
Word-for-word swaps
- even→just
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.