John 10:38 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.
But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in 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.
But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
but if I do, even if ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know [and believe] that the Father is in me and I in 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 if I do, even if me ye may not believe, the works believe, that ye may know and may believe that in me is the Father, and I in 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.
But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
if I am doing it, even though you do not believe me, believe what that work shows; so that you may understand, and understand more and more clearly, that the Father is in union with me, and I with the Father.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
if I am doing it, even though you do not believe me, believe what that work shows; so that you may understand, and understand more and more clearly, that the Father is in union with me, and I with the Father.’
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.
But if I am doing them, then have belief in the works even if you have no belief in me; so that you may see clearly and be certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
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.
But if I do, them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works: that you may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- him→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.