Acts 2:6 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.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
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 when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But the rumour of this having spread, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each one heard them speaking in his own dialect.
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 the rumour of this having come, the multitude came together, and was confounded, because they were each one hearing them speaking in his proper dialect,
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.
When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
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, when this sound was heard, numbers of people collected, in the greatest excitement, because each of them heard the disciples speaking in his own language.
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 when this sound came to their ears, they all came together, and were greatly surprised because every man was hearing the words of the disciples in his special language.
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.
when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
Word-for-word swaps
- abroad→heard
- confounded→bewildered
- man→everyone
- speak→speaking
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.