Acts 20:23 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.
Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
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.
save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
only that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
save that the Holy Spirit in every city doth testify fully, saying, that for me bonds and tribulations remain;
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.
except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
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.
except that in town after town the Holy Spirit plainly declares to me that imprisonment and troubles await me.
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.
Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me.
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.
except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
Word-for-word swaps
- Save→except
- witnesseth→Spirit
- abide→wait
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.