Acts 23:35 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.
I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.
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 will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod`s palace.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
he said, I will hear thee fully when thine accusers also are arrived. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's praetorium.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`I will hear thee--said he--when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.
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 will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive.” He commanded that he be kept in Herod’s palace.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“I will hear all you have to say as soon as your accusers have arrived.” And he ordered Paul to be kept under guard in Herod’s Government house.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘I will hear all you have to say as soon as your accusers have arrived.’ And he ordered Paul to be kept under guard in Herod’s Government house.
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.
I will give hearing to your cause, he said, when those who are against you have come. And he gave orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.
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 will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive.” he commanded that he be kept in Herod’s palace.
Word-for-word swaps
- he→you
- thine→your
- And→arrive
- to→that
- hall→palace
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.