Luke 12:22 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.
And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
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 he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for [your] life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he said to his disciples, For this cause I say unto you, Be not careful for life, what ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on.
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 he said unto his disciples, `Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on;
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.
He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
And Jesus said to his disciples, “That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about the life here – what you can get to eat; or about your body – what you can get to wear.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about the life here – what you can get to eat; or about your body – what you can get to wear.
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 he said to his disciples, For this reason I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about what food you will take, or for your body, how it may be clothed.
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.
he said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat; nor yet for your body, what you will wear.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- unto→tell
- thought→don’t
- shall→you
- neither→nor
- the→your
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.