Luke 12:7 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.
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
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 the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are better than many sparrows.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but even the hairs of your head have been all numbered; therefore fear ye not, than many sparrows ye are of more value.
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 the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
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, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
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.
But even the hairs of your head are numbered. Have no fear: you are of more value than a flock of sparrows.
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 the very hairs of your head are all counted. therefore: don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
Word-for-word swaps
- not→counted
- ye→don’t
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.