Acts 20:29 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.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
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.
I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[For] *I* know [this,] that there will come in amongst you after my departure grievous wolves, not sparing the flock;
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 I have known this, that there shall enter in, after my departing, grievous wolves unto you, not sparing the flock,
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 I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
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.
I know that, after my departure, merciless wolves will get in among you, who will not spare the flock;
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.
I am conscious that after I am gone, evil wolves will come in among you, doing damage to the flock;
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 I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Word-for-word swaps
- grievous→departure
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.