John 16:17 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.
Then said of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
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.
[Some] of his disciples therefore said one to another, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[Some] of his disciples therefore said to one another, What is this he says to us, A little while and ye do not behold me; and again a little while and ye shall see me, and, Because I go away to the Father?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Therefore said some of his disciples one to another, `What is this that he saith to us, A little while, and ye do not behold me, and again a little while, and ye shall see me, and, Because I go away unto 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.
Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
At this some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us ‘In a little while you will not see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed’; and by saying ‘Because I am going to the Father’?
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
At this some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us “In a little while you will not see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed”; and by saying “Because I am going to the Father”?
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.
So some of the disciples said one to another, What is this he is saying, After a little time, you will see me no longer; and then again, after a little time, you will see me? and, I am going to the Father?
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.
Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, What is this that he says to us, A little while, and you won’t see me: and again, a little while, and you will see me;’ and, Because I go to the Father’?”
Word-for-word swaps
- said→Some
- themselves→therefore
- unto→says
- not→you
- shall→you
- Father→Father’
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.