John 5:39 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.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
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.
Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Ye search the scriptures, for ye think that in them ye have life eternal, and they it is which bear witness concerning me;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Ye search the Writings, because ye think in them to have life age-during, and these are they that are testifying concerning me;
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.
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.
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.
You search the scriptures, because you think that you find in them immortal life; and, though it is those scriptures that bear testimony to me,
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.
You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me.
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.
“You Search the scriptures; because you think that in them you have eternal life: and these are they which testify about me.
Word-for-word swaps
- for→because
- ye→you
- they→these
- of→about
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.