John 9:30 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.
The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and he hath opened mine eyes.
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.
The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and [yet] he opened mine eyes.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The man answered and said to them, Now in this is a wonderful thing, that *ye* do not know whence he is, and he has opened mine eyes.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
The man answered and said to them, `Why, in this is a wonderful thing, that ye have not known whence he is, and he opened my eyes!
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.
The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Well,” the man replied, “this is very strange; you do not know where he comes from, and yet he has given me my sight!
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Well,’ the man replied, ‘this is very strange; you do not know where he comes from, and yet he has given me my sight!
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.
The man said in answer, Why, here is a strange thing! You have no knowledge where he comes from though he gave me the use of my eyes.
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.
The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
Word-for-word swaps
- ye→How
- whence→where
- and→comes
- mine→my
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.