Acts 23:18 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.
So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
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.
So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
He therefore, having taken him with [him], led him to the chiliarch, and says, The prisoner Paul called me to [him] and asked me to lead this youth to thee, who has something to say to thee.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, `The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked me this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.'
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.
So he took him, and brought him to the commanding officer, and said, “Paul, the prisoner, summoned me and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to tell you.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
The captain went with the lad to the commanding officer, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this lad to you, as he has something to tell you.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
The captain went with the lad to the commanding officer, and said, ‘The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this lad to you, as he has something to tell you.’
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.
So he took him to the chief captain and said, Paul, the prisoner, made a request to me to take this young man to you, for he has something to say to you.
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.
So he took him, and brought him to the commanding officer, and said, Paul the prisoner summoned me and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to tell you.”
Word-for-word swaps
- captain→commanding
- called→summoned
- prayed→asked
- thee→to
- hath→has
- thee→tell
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.