John 13:5 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.
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe with the towel wherewith he was girded.
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.
Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples` feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
then he pours water into the washhand basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the linen towel with which he was girded.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
afterward he putteth water into the basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, and to wipe with the towel with which he was being girded.
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.
Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around 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.
He then poured some water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel which was tied around him.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
He then poured some water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel which was tied round him.
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.
Then he put water into a basin and was washing the feet of the disciples and drying them with the cloth which was round him.
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.
Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Word-for-word swaps
- that→Then
- poureth→poured
- bason→the
- he→that
- girded→wrapped
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.