Acts 8:31 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.
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
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 said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he said, How should I then be able unless some one guide me? And he begged Philip to come up and sit with him.
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 he said, `Why, how am I able, if some one may not guide me?' he called Philip also, having come up, to sit with him.
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 said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“How can I,” the other answered, “unless someone will explain it to me?” and he invited Philip to get up and sit by his side.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘How can I,’ the other answered, ‘unless someone will explain it to me?’ and he invited Philip to get up and sit by his side.
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.
And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side.
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 said, How can I, unless someone explains it to me? he begged Philip to come up and sit with him.
Word-for-word swaps
- guide→unless
- desired→begged
- would→to
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.