Acts 27:29 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.
Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the 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.
And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and fearing lest we should be cast on rocky places, casting four anchors out of the stern, they wished that day were come.
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 fearing lest on rough places we may fall, out of the stern having cast four anchors, they were wishing day to come.
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.
Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.
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.
Then, as they were afraid of our being driven on some rocky coast, they let go four anchors from the stern, and longed for daylight.
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.
Then, fearing that by chance we might come on to the rocks, they let down four hooks from the back of the ship, and made prayers for the coming of day.
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.
fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.
Word-for-word swaps
- lest→that
- rocks→would
- cast→let
- of→from
- day→daylight
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.