John 18:14 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.
Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
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.
Now Caiaphas was he that gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But it was Caiaphas who counselled the Jews that it was better that one man should perish for the people.
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 Caiaphas was he who gave counsel to the Jews, that it is good for one man to perish for the people.
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.
Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should perish for the people.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the religious authorities, that it was best that one person should die for the people.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
It was Caiaphas who had counselled the religious authorities, that it was best that one person should die for the people.
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.
It was Caiaphas who had said to the Jews that it was in their interest for one man to be put to death for the people.
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.
Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should perish for the people.
Word-for-word swaps
- Caiaphas→it
- to→Caiaphas
- die→perish
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.