Luke 1:65 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
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.
And fear came upon all who dwelt round about them; and in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these things were the subject of conversation.
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 fear came upon all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of,
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.
Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
All their neighbors were awe-struck at this, and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
All their neighbours were awe-struck at this, and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about.
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.
And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.
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.
fear came on all who lived around them: and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
Word-for-word swaps
- about→who
- abroad→talked
- Judaea→Judea
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.