Bible Verses
Translation comparison

John 14:13 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.

King James Version · American Standard Version
KJV
ASV

These 2 editions word this verse identically.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

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.

Darby Bible
DARBY

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, this will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.

Young's Literal Translation
YLT

and whatever ye may ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;

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.

World English Bible
WEB

Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

Open English Bible (US)
OEB-US

Whatever you ask, in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be honored in the Son.

in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.

Open English Bible (Commonwealth)
OEB-CW

Whatever you ask, in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be honoured in the Son.

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.

Bible in Basic English
BBE

And whatever request you make in my name, that I will do, so that the Father may have glory in the Son.

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.

Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Word-for-word swaps

  • shallWhatever

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.