Luke 12:47 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 that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many
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 that servant, who knew his lord`s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes];
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But that bondman who knew his own lord's will, and had not prepared [himself] nor done his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes];
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 that servant, who having known his lord's will, and not having prepared, nor having gone according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes,
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.
That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,
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.
The servant who knows his master’s wishes and yet does not prepare and act accordingly will receive many lashes;
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 the servant who had knowledge of his lord's desires and was not ready for him and did not do as he was ordered, will be given a great number of blows;
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.
that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will, be beaten with many stripes,
Word-for-word swaps
- which→who
- his→didn’t
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.