Acts 27:16 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.
And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:
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.
And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But running under the lee of a certain island called Clauda, we were with difficulty able to make ourselves masters of the boat;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and having run under a certain little isle, called Clauda, we were hardly able to become masters of the boat,
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.
Running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat.
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.
Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we only just managed to secure the ship’s boat,
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.
And, sailing near the side of a small island named Cauda, we were able, though it was hard work, to make the ship's boat safe:
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.
running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
Word-for-word swaps
- certain→small
- work→were
- by→secure
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.