Acts 28:14 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.
Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
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.
where we found brethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
where, having found brethren, we were begged to stay with them seven days. And thus we went to Rome.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
where, having found brethren, we were called upon to remain with them seven days, and thus to Rome we came;
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.
where we found brothers, and were entreated to stay with them for seven days. So we came to Rome.
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.
There we found some of the Lord’s followers, and were urged to stay a week with them; after which we went on to Rome.
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.
Where we came across some of the brothers, who kept us with them for seven days; and so we came to Rome.
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.
Where we found brothers, and were entreated to stay with them for seven days: so we came to Rome.
Word-for-word swaps
- brethren→brothers
- desired→entreated
- tarry→stay
- toward→came
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.