John 6:57 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.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by 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.
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
As the living Father has sent me and I live on account of the Father, *he* also who eats me shall live also on account of 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.
`According as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, he also who is eating me, even that one shall live because of 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.
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of 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.
As the living Father sent me as his messenger, and as I live because the Father lives, so the person who takes me for their food will live because I live.
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.
As the living Father has sent me, and I have life because of the Father, even so he who takes me for his food will have life because of 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.
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father: so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me.
Word-for-word swaps
- by→because
- eateth→who
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.