Acts 16:6 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.
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
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.
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And having passed through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and having gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,
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.
When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
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.
They next went through the Phrygian district of Galatia, but were restrained by the Holy Spirit from delivering the message in Roman Asia.
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.
And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia;
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.
when they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,
Word-for-word swaps
- and→through
- Galatia→Phrygia
- of→by
- Ghost→Spirit
- preach→speak
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.