John 8:7 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.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
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 when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them, Let him that is without sin among you first cast the stone at her.
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 when they continued asking him, having bent himself back, he said unto them, `The sinless of you--let him first cast the stone at her;'
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 when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
However, as they continued asking him, he raised himself, and said, “Let the person among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at her.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
However, as they continued asking him, he raised himself, and said, ‘Let the person among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at her.’
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.
But when they went on with their questions, he got up and said to them, Let him among you who is without sin be the first to send a stone at her.
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 when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.
Word-for-word swaps
- So→But
- lifted→looked
- unto→to
- that→who
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.