John 7:17 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.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or I speak of myself.
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.
If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or [whether] I speak from myself.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
If any one desire to practise his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is of God, or [that] I speak from myself.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
if any one may will to do His will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God, or--I do speak from myself.
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.
If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
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.
If anyone has the will to do God’s will, they will find out whether my teaching is from God, or whether I speak on my own authority.
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.
If any man is ready to do God's pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from--from God or from myself.
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.
If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
Word-for-word swaps
- will→anyone
- shall→will
- of→about
- doctrine→teaching
- of→is
- of→am
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.