Acts 25:5 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.
Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.
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.
Let them therefore, saith he, that are of power among you go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, let them accuse him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Let therefore the persons of authority among you, says he, going down too, if there be anything in this man, accuse him.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Therefore those able among you--saith he--having come down together, if there be anything in this man--let them accuse him;'
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.
“Let them therefore”, said he, “that are in power among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong in the man, let them accuse him.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“So let the influential men among you,” he said, “go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, charge him formally with it.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘So let the influential men among you,’ he said, ‘go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, charge him formally with it.’
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 said, let those who have authority among you go with me, and if there is any wrong in the man, let them make a statement against him.
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.
Let them therefore, said he, “that are in power among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong in the man, let them accuse him.
Word-for-word swaps
- which→that
- wickedness→is
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.