Acts 20:10 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.
And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
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 Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make ye no ado; for his life is in him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But Paul descending fell upon him, and enfolding [him] [in his arms], said, Be not troubled, for his life is in him.
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 Paul, having gone down, fell upon him, and having embraced him, said, `Make no tumult, for his life is in him;'
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.
Paul went down, and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.”
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 Paul went down, threw himself on him, and put his arms around him. “Do not be alarmed,” he said, “he is still alive.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But Paul went down, threw himself on him, and put his arms round him. ‘Do not be alarmed,’ he said, ‘he is still alive.’
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.
And Paul went down and, falling on him, took him in his arms and said, Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.
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.
Paul went down, and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.
Word-for-word swaps
- on→upon
- yourselves→Don’t
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.