John 7:4 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.
For no man doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
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.
For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
for no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be [known] in public. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world:
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for no one in secret doth anything, and himself seeketh to be in public; if thou dost these things--manifest thyself to the world;'
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.
For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For no one does a thing privately, if they are seeking to be widely known. Since you do these things, you should show yourself publicly to the world.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For no one does a thing privately, if they are seeking to be widely known. Since you do these things, you should show yourself publicly to the world.’
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.
Because no man does things secretly if he has a desire that men may have knowledge of him. If you do these things, let yourself be seen by all men.
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.
For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.
Word-for-word swaps
- thing→one
- seeketh→seeks
- thou→you
- thyself→reveal
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.