John 19:24 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.
They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
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.
They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
They said therefore to one another, Let us not rend it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled which says, They parted my garments among themselves, and on my vesture they cast lots. The soldiers therefore did these things.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
they said, therefore, to one another, `We may not rend it, but cast a lot for it, whose it shall be;' that the Writing might be fulfilled, that is saying, `They divided my garments to themselves, and upon my raiment they did cast a lot;' the soldiers, therefore, indeed, did these things.
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.
Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
So they said to one another, “Do not let us tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who will have it.” This was in fulfillment of the words of scripture – ‘They shared my clothes among them, and over my clothing they cast lots.’ That was what the soldiers did.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
So they said to one another, ‘Do not let us tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who will have it.’ This was in fulfilment of the words of scripture – “They shared my clothes among them, and over my clothing they cast lots.” That was what the soldiers did.
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 they said among themselves, Let this not be cut up, but let us put it to the decision of chance and see who gets it. (They did this so that the Writings might come true, which say, They made a distribution of my clothing among them, and my coat they put to the decision of chance.) This was what the men of the army did.
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.
Then They said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, They parted my garments among them, for my cloak they cast lots. therefore the soldiers did. these things.
Word-for-word swaps
- us→to
- rend→tear
- shall→will
- saith→says
- raiment→garments
- vesture→cloak
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.