Acts 23:17 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.
Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell 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 called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain; for he hath something to tell him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And Paul, having called one of the centurions, said, Take this youth to the chiliarch, for he has something to report to 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 called near one of the centurions, said, `This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell 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 summoned one of the centurions, and said, “Bring this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to tell 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Paul called one of the Captains of the garrison and asked him to take the lad to the commanding officer, as he had something to tell him.
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 Paul sent for a captain and said, Take this young man to your chief, for he has news for 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 summoned one of the centurions and said, Bring this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to tell him.
Word-for-word swaps
- called→summoned
- unto→to
- captain→commanding
- thing→has
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.