John 5:45 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.
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is that accuseth you, Moses, in whom ye trust.
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.
Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, [even] Moses, on whom ye have set your hope.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is [one] who accuses you, Moses, on whom ye trust;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Do not think that I will accuse you unto the Father; there is who is accusing you, Moses--in whom ye have hoped;
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.
“Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
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.
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have been resting your hopes.
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.
Put out of your minds the thought that I will say things against you to the Father: the one who says things against you is Moses, on whom you put your hopes.
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.
“Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
Word-for-word swaps
- not→Don’t
- accuseth→one
- in→on
- trust→you
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.