Acts 24:3 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.
We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.
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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
we accept it in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
we receive [it] always and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
always, also, and everywhere we receive it, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness;
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.
“We owe it to your Excellency,” he said, “that we are enjoying profound peace, and we owe it to your foresight that this nation is constantly securing reforms – advantages which we very gratefully accept at all times and places.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘We owe it to your Excellency,’ he said, ‘that we are enjoying profound peace, and we owe it to your foresight that this nation is constantly securing reforms – advantages which we very gratefully accept at all times and places.
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.
In all things and in all places we are conscious of our great debt to you, most noble Felix.
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.
We accept it in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
Word-for-word swaps
- always→in
- noble→excellent
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.