Acts 2:39 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.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
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.
For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all who [are] afar off, as many as [the] Lord our God may call.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
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.
For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For the promise is for you and for your children, and also for all those now far away, who may be called by the Lord our God.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For the promise is for you and for your children, and also for all those now far away, who may be called by the Lord our God.’
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.
For the word of God is for you and for your children and for all those who are far off, even all those who may be marked out by the Lord our God.
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.
For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call. to himself.”
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- that→who
- afar→far
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.