John 8:34 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.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
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.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Jesus answered them, `Verily, verily, I say to you--Every one who is committing sin, is a servant of the sin,
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.
Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“In truth I tell you,” replied Jesus, “everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘In truth I tell you,’ replied Jesus, ‘everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
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.
And this was the answer Jesus gave them: Truly I say to you, Everyone who does evil is the servant of sin.
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.
Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
Word-for-word swaps
- verily→Most
- unto→tell
- committeth→everyone
- servant→bondservant
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.