Acts 3:7 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 he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
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 he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And having taken hold of him [by] the right hand he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones were made strong.
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 seized him by the right hand, he raised him up, and presently his feet and ankles were strengthened,
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.
He took him by the right hand, and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
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.
Grasping the lame man by the right hand, Peter lifted him up. Instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong,
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 he took him by his right hand, lifting him up; and straight away his feet and the bones of his legs became strong,
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.
he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
Word-for-word swaps
- lifted→raised
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.