John 12:6 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.
This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
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.
Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and carried what was put into [it].
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 he said this, not because he was caring for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and what things were put in he was carrying.
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.
Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
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.
He said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and, being in charge of the purse, used to take what was put in it.
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.
(He said this, not because he had any love for the poor; but because he was a thief, and, having the money-bag, took for himself what was put into it.)
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.
Now he said, this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
Word-for-word swaps
- This→Now
- that→because
- had→having
- bare→money
- therein→into
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.