Acts 18:15 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 if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
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 if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge of these matters.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
but if it be questions about words, and names, and the law that ye have, see to it yourselves; [for] *I* do not intend to be judge of these 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.
but if it is a question concerning words and names, and of your law, look ye yourselves to it, for a judge of these things I do not wish to be,'
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 if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
but, since it is a dispute about words, and names, and your own Law, you must see to it yourselves. I do not choose to be a judge in such matters.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
but, since it is a dispute about words, and names, and your own Law, you must see to it yourselves. I do not choose to be a judge in such matters.’
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 if it is a question of words or names or of your law, see to it yourselves; I will not be a judge of such things.
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 if they are questions about words and names, and your own law, look to it; yourselves. for I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→they
- will→don’t
- no→a
- such→these
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.