John 6:60 in 8 translations
8 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.
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
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.
Many therefore of his disciples, when the heard [this], said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Many therefore of his disciples having heard [it] said, This word is hard; who can hear it?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
many, therefore, of his disciples having heard, said, `This word is hard; who is able to hear it?'
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.
Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is harsh doctrine! Who can bear to listen to it?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is harsh doctrine! Who can bear to listen to it?’
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.
Then, hearing this, a number of his disciples said, This is a hard saying; who is able to take in such teaching?
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.
therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?
Word-for-word swaps
- an→a
- hear→listen
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.