Acts 17:3 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.
Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
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.
opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, [said he,] I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
opening and laying down that the Christ must have suffered and risen up from among the dead, and that this is the Christ, Jesus whom *I* announce to you.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
opening and alleging, `That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ--Jesus whom I proclaim to you.'
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.
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
He laid before them and explained that the Christ must undergo suffering and rise from the dead; and “It is this man,” he declared, “who is the Christ – this Jesus about whom I am telling you.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
He laid before them and explained that the Christ must undergo suffering and rise from the dead; and ‘It is this man,’ he declared, ‘who is the Christ – this Jesus about whom I am telling you.’
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.
Saying to them clearly and openly that Christ had to be put to death and come back to life again; and that this Jesus, whom, he said, I am preaching to you, is the Christ.
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.
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead; and saying, this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.
Word-for-word swaps
- Opening→explaining
- alleging→demonstrating
- suffered→had
- risen→rise
- that→saying
- unto→proclaim
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.