John 8:40 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.
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
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.
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God: this did not Abraham.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
but now ye seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God: this did not Abraham.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and now, ye seek to kill me--a man who hath spoken to you the truth I heard from God; this Abraham did not;
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.
But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this.
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.
But, as it is, you are seeking to put me to death – a man who has told you the truth as he heard it from God. Abraham did not act in that way.
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.
But now you have a desire to put me to death, a man who has said to you what is true, as I had it from God: Abraham did not do that.
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.
But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God: Abraham. didn’t do this.
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→you
- hath→who
- of→from
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.