Acts 17:2 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.
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
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 Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And according to Paul's custom he went in among them, and on three sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures,
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 according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings,
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.
Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
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.
and, following his usual custom, Paul joined them, and for three Sabbaths addressed them, drawing his arguments from the scriptures.
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 Paul, as he generally did, went in to them, and on three Sabbath days had discussions with them from the holy Writings,
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.
Paul, as was, his custom, went in to them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures,
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- of→from
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.