Acts 28:28 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.
Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
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.
Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Be it known to you therefore, that this salvation of God has been sent to the nations; *they* also will hear [it].
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Be it known, therefore, to you, that to the nations was sent the salvation of God, these also will hear it;'
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.
“Be it known therefore to you, that the salvation of God is sent to the nations, and they will listen.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Understand, then, that this salvation of God was sent for the Gentiles; and they will listen.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Understand, then, that this salvation of God was sent for the Gentiles; and they will listen.’
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.
Be certain, then, that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will give hearing.
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.
Be it known therefore to you, that the salvation of God is sent to the nations, and they will listen.”
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- Gentiles→nations
- it→listen
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.