John 13:3 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.
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
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.
[Jesus], knowing that the Father had given all the things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[Jesus,] knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came out from God and was going to God,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Jesus knowing that all things the Father hath given to him--into his hands, and that from God he came forth, and unto God he goeth,
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.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
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.
and at supper, Jesus – although knowing that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God, and was to return to God –
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.
Jesus, being conscious that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he came from God and was going to God,
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.
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God;
Word-for-word swaps
- come→came
- went→was
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.