Bible Verses
Translation comparison

John 20:30 in 8 translations

7 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.

King James Version
KJV

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

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.

American Standard Version
ASV

Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book:

1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.

Darby Bible
DARBY

Many other signs therefore also Jesus did before his disciples, which are not written in this book;

1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.

Young's Literal Translation
YLT

Many indeed, therefore, other signs also did Jesus before his disciples, that are not written in this book;

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.

World English Bible
WEB

Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

Open English Bible (US) · Open English Bible (Commonwealth)
OEB-US
OEB-CW

These 2 editions word this verse identically.

There were many other signs of his mission that Jesus gave in presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book;

in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.

Simplified English

Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.

Bible in Basic English
BBE

A number of other signs Jesus did before his disciples which are not recorded in this book:

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.

Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

Word-for-word swaps

  • AndTherefore

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.