John 4:40 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.
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two 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.
So when the Samaritans came unto him, they besought him to abide with them: and he abode there two days.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
When therefore the Samaritans came to him they asked him to abide with them, and he abode there two 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.
When, then, the Samaritans came unto him, they were asking him to remain with them, and he remained there two days;
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.
So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed there two 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
And, when these Samaritans had come to Jesus, they begged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
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.
So when the people came to him they made request to him to be among them for a time, and he was there two 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.
So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them: he stayed there two days.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→came
- besought→begged
- tarry→to
- abode→stayed
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.