Acts 20:38 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.
Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
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.
sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
specially pained by the word which he had said, that they would no more see his face. And they went down with him to the ship.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
sorrowing most of all for the word that he had said--that they are about no more to see his face; and they were accompanying him to the ship.
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.
sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
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.
grieving most of all over what he had said – that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
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.
Being sad most of all because he had said that they would not see his face again. And so they went with him to the ship.
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.
Sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Word-for-word swaps
- for→because
- words→word
- spake→had
- unto→to
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.