John 9:8 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 neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
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 neighbors therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
The neighbours therefore, and those who used to see him before, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that was sitting and begging?
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 neighbours, therefore, and those seeing him before, that he was blind, said, `Is not this he who is sitting and begging?'
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 neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
His neighbors, and those who had formerly known him by sight as a beggar, exclaimed, “Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
His neighbours, and those who had formerly known him by sight as a beggar, exclaimed, ‘Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?’
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.
Then the neighbours and others who had seen him before in the street, with his hand out for money, said, Is not this the man who got money from people?
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 neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind, before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?
Word-for-word swaps
- neighbours→neighbors
- him→those
- not→Isn’t
- 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.