John 11:28 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 when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
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 when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Teacher is her, and calleth thee.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And having said this, she went away and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, The teacher is come and calls thee.
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 these things having said, she went away, and called Mary her sister privately, saying, `The Teacher is present, and doth call thee;'
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.
When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here, and is calling you.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
After saying this, Martha went and called her sister Mary, and whispered, “The teacher is here, and is asking for you.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
After saying this, Martha went and called her sister Mary, and whispered, ‘The teacher is here, and is asking for you.’
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 having said this, she went away and said secretly to her sister Mary, The Master is here and has sent for you.
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.
when she had said, this, she went away, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Teacher is here, and is calling you.”
Word-for-word swaps
- way→away
- Master→Teacher
- come→here
- thee→is
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.