John 10:4 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 when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
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.
When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
When he has put forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
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 when his own sheep he may put forth, before them he goeth on, and the sheep follow him, because they have known his voice;
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.
Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
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.
When he has brought them all out, he walks in front of them, and his sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
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.
When he has got them all out, he goes before them, and the sheep go after him, for they have knowledge of his voice.
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.
Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Word-for-word swaps
- when→Whenever
- forth→brings
- goeth→goes
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.