Acts 23:29 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.
Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
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.
whom I found to be accused about questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
whom I found to be accused of questions of their law, but to have no charge laid against him [making him] worthy of death or of bonds.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds;
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.
I found him to be accused about questions of their law, but not to be charged with anything worthy of death or of imprisonment.
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.
when I found that their charges were connected with questions of their own Law, and that there was nothing alleged involving either death or imprisonment.
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.
Then it became clear to me that it was a question of their law, and that nothing was said against him which might be a reason for prison or death.
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.
I found him to be accused about questions of their law, but not to be charged with anything worthy of death or of imprisonment.
Word-for-word swaps
- perceived→found
- of→about
- laid→not
- charge→be
- bonds→imprisonment
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.