John 5:13 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.
And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in place.
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.
But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But he that had been healed knew not who it was, for Jesus had slidden away, there being a crowd in the place.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
But he that was healed had not known who he is, for Jesus did move away, a multitude being in the place.
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.
But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
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.
But the man who had been restored did not know who it was; for Jesus had moved away, because there was a crowd there.
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.
Now he who had been made well had no knowledge who it was, Jesus having gone away because of the number of people who were in that place.
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.
But he who was healed didn’t know who it was: for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
Word-for-word swaps
- And→But
- that→who
- not→didn’t
- away→withdrawn
- multitude→crowd
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.