Acts 19:34 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 when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
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 when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But, recognising that he was a Jew, there was one cry from all, shouting for about two hours, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians.
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 known that he is a Jew, one voice came out of all, for about two hours, crying, `Great is the Artemis of the Ephesians!'
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 when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for a time of about two hours cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
However, when they recognized him as a Jew, one cry broke from them all, and they continued shouting for two hours – “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
However, when they recognised him as a Jew, one cry broke from them all, and they continued shouting for two hours – ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’
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 when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus.
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 when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for a time of about two hours cried out, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
Word-for-word swaps
- knew→perceived
- space→for
- Diana→Artemis
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.