Acts 24:21 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.
Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.
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.
except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question before you this day.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[other] than concerning this one voice which I cried standing amongst them: I am judged this day by you touching [the] resurrection of [the] dead.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
except concerning this one voice, in which I cried, standing among them--Concerning a rising again of the dead I am judged to-day by you.'
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.
unless it is for this one thing that I cried standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged before you today!’”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
except as to the one sentence that I shouted out as I stood among them – ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on my trial before you today’.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
except as to the one sentence that I shouted out as I stood among them – “It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on my trial before you today”.’
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.
But only this one thing which I said among them in a loud voice, I am this day being judged on the question of the coming back from the dead.
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.
unless it is for this one thing that I cried standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged before you today!’”
Word-for-word swaps
- Except→unless
- be→is
- voice→thing
- Touching→Concerning
- by→being
- day→today
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.