John 7:3 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.
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
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.
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
His brethren therefore said to him, Remove hence and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou doest;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
his brethren, therefore, said unto him, `Remove hence, and go away to Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works that thou dost;
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.
His brothers therefore said to him, “Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
his brothers said to him, “Leave this part of the country, and go into Judea, so that your disciples, as well as we, may see the work that you are doing.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
his brothers said to him, ‘Leave this part of the country, and go into Judea, so that your disciples, as well as we, may see the work that you are doing.
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.
So his brothers said to him, Go away from here into Judaea so that your disciples may see the works which you do.
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.
His brothers therefore said to him, Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.
Word-for-word swaps
- brethren→brothers
- unto→to
- hence→from
- Judaea→Judea
- thy→your
- the→your
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.