John 10:10 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.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have more abundantly.
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.
The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The thief comes not but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I am come that they might have life, and might have [it] abundantly.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`The thief doth not come, except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
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.
The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
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.
The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it in greater fullness.
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.
The thief comes only to take the sheep and to put them to death: he comes for their destruction: I have come so that they may have life and have it in greater measure.
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.
The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
Word-for-word swaps
- for→only
- come→came
- might→may
- more→it
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.