John 18:22 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.
And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
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 when he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But as he said these things, one of the officers who stood by gave a blow on the face to Jesus, saying, Answerest thou the high priest thus?
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 he having said these things, one of the officers standing by did give Jesus a slap, saying, `Thus dost thou answer the chief priest?'
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.
When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
When Jesus said this, one of the police officers, who was standing near, gave him a blow with his hand. “Do you answer the high priest like that?” he exclaimed.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
When Jesus said this, one of the police officers, who was standing near, gave him a blow with his hand. ‘Do you answer the high priest like that?’ he exclaimed.
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.
When he said this, one of the police by his side gave him a blow with his open hand, saying, Do you give such an answer to the high priest?
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.
when he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
Word-for-word swaps
- spoken→said
- stood→standing
- struck→slapped
- thou→Do
- so→like
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.