Luke 12:20 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.
But God said unto him, fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
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.
But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared?
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 God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare--to whom shall they be?
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.
“But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But God said to the man ‘Fool! This very night your life is being demanded; and as for all you have prepared – who will have it?’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But God said to the man “Fool! This very night your life is being demanded; and as for all you have prepared – who will have it?”
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.
But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together?
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.
But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- thy→You
- be→is
- those→you
- provided→you
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.