John 18:21 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.
Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
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.
Why askest thou me? Ask them that have heard [me], what I spake unto them: behold, these know the things which I said.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Why demandest thou of me? Demand of those who have heard, what I have spoken to them; behold, they know what I have said.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
why me dost thou question? question those having heard what I spake to them; lo, these have known what I said.'
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.
Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, these know the things which I said.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Why question me? Question those who have listened to me as to what I have spoken about to them. They must know what I said.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Why question me? Question those who have listened to me as to what I have spoken about to them. They must know what I said.’
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.
Why are you questioning me? put questions to my hearers about what I have said to them: they have knowledge of what I said.
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.
Why do you ask me? ask those who have heard me, what I said to them: behold, these know the things which I said.
Word-for-word swaps
- thou→do
- which→those
- unto→to
- they→these
- what→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.