Luke 12:29 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.
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
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 seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And *ye*, seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety;
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 ye--seek not what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, and be not in suspense,
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.
Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious.
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.
And you – do not be always seeking what you can get to eat or what you can get to drink; and do not waver.
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.
And do not give overmuch thought to your food and drink, and let not your mind be full of doubts.
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.
Don’t seek what you will eat, or what you will drink, neither be anxious.
Word-for-word swaps
- And→Don’t
- shall→you
- mind→anxious
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.