John 6:17 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 entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
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.
and they entered into a boat, and were going over the sea unto Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and having gone on board ship, they went over the sea to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not come to them,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and having entered into the boat, they were going over the sea to Capernaum, and darkness had already come, and Jesus had not come unto them,
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.
and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
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, getting into a boat, began to cross to Capernaum. By this time darkness had set in, and Jesus had not yet come back to them;
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.
And they took a boat and went across the sea in the direction of Capernaum. By then it was dark and still Jesus had not come to them.
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.
And they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
Word-for-word swaps
- ship→the
- went→were
- toward→to
- was→had
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.