John 17:3 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.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
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.
And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, [even] Jesus Christ.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And this is the eternal life, that they should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
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 this is the life age-during, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send--Jesus Christ;
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.
This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
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 the eternal life is this – to know you the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you has sent as your messenger.
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.
And this is eternal life: to have knowledge of you, the only true God, and of him whom you have sent, even Jesus Christ.
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.
this is eternal, life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent. Jesus Christ.
Word-for-word swaps
- might→should
- thee→you
- Christ→him
- hast→you
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.