John 11:37 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 some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
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 some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And some of them said, Could not this [man], who has opened the eyes of the blind [man], have caused that this [man] also should not have died?
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 certain of them said, `Was not this one, who did open the eyes of the blind man, able to cause that also this one might not have died?'
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.
Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
but some of them said, “Could not this man, who gave sight to the blind man, have also prevented Lazarus from dying?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
but some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who gave sight to the blind man, have also prevented Lazarus from dying?’
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 some of them said, This man, who made open the eyes of the blind man, was he not able to keep his friend from 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.
some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”
Word-for-word swaps
- not→Couldn’t
- which→who
- the→him
- even→also
- died→from
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.