Luke 11:33 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.
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
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.
No man, when he hath lighted a lamp, putteth it in a cellar, neither under the bushel, but on the stand, that they which enter in may see the light.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But no one having lit a lamp sets it in secret, nor under the corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, that they who enter in may see the light.
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 no one having lighted a lamp, doth put it in a secret place, nor under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, that those coming in may behold the light.
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.
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
No one sets light to a lamp, and then puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but he puts it on the lamp-stand, so that anyone who comes in may see the light.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
No man, when the light has been lighted, puts it in a secret place, or under a vessel, but on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.
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.
No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.
Word-for-word swaps
- man→one
- lighted→has
- putteth→lamp
- neither→cellar
- bushel→basket
- candlestick→stand
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.