John 12:26 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.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will Father honour.
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.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will the Father honor.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be *my* servant. [And] if any one serve me, him shall the Father honour.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
if any one may minister to me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also my ministrant shall be; and if any one may minister to me--honour him will the Father.
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.
If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
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 someone is ready to serve me, let them follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. If a person is ready to serve me, my Father will honor them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
If someone is ready to serve me, let them follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. If a person is ready to serve me, my Father will honour them.
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.
If any man is my servant, let him come after me; and where I am, there will my servant be. If any man becomes my servant, my Father will give him honour.
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.
If anyone serves me, let him follow me; where I am, there will my servant also be: if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Word-for-word swaps
- serve→anyone
- also→will
- will→the
- honour→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.