John 2:20 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.
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
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.
The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and thou wilt raise it up in three days?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
The Jews, therefore, said, `Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?'
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.
The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“This Temple,” the authorities replied, “has been forty-six years in building, and are you going to ‘raise it in three days’?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘This Temple,’ the authorities replied, ‘has been forty-six years in building, and are you going to “raise it in three days”?’
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.
The Jews said, The building of this Temple took forty-six years; and you will put it up in three days!
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.
the Jews, therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple Will you raise it up in three days?
Word-for-word swaps
- six→therefore
- was→to
- rear→Will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.