John 6:29 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
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.
Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom *he* has sent.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Jesus answered and said to them, `This is the work of God, that ye may believe in him whom He did send.'
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.
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“The work that God wants you to do,” answered Jesus, “is to believe in him whom God sent as his messenger.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘The work that God wants you to do,’ answered Jesus, ‘is to believe in him whom God sent as his messenger.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
Jesus, answering, said to them, This is to do the work of God: to have faith in him whom God has sent.
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.
Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- on→in
- hath→has
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.