Luke 1:2 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.
Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
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.
even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, --
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.
even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
just as they were reported to us by those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses, and afterward became bearers of the message.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
just as they were reported to us by those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses, and afterwards became bearers of the message.
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.
As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,
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.
Even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and servants of the word; delivered them to us,
Word-for-word swaps
- which→those
- ministers→servants
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.