Acts 9:29 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.
And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay 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.
preaching boldly in the name of the Lord: and he spake and disputed against the Grecian Jews; but they were seeking to kill him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and discussed with the Hellenists; but they sought to kill 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 speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, he was both speaking and disputing with the Hellenists, and they were taking in hand to kill 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.
preaching boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
talking and arguing with the Jews of foreign birth, who, however, made attempts to kill him.
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.
Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
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.
preaching boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.
Word-for-word swaps
- spake→preaching
- Grecians→Hellenists
- about→were
- slay→kill
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.