Luke 14:19 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 another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
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 another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee hold me for excused.
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 another said, Five yoke of oxen I bought, and I go on to prove them; I beg of thee, have me excused:
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.
“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
The next said ‘I have bought five pairs of bullocks, and I am on my way to try them. I must ask you to consider me excused’;
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
The next said “I have bought five pairs of bullocks, and I am on my way to try them. I must ask you to consider me excused”;
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 another said, I have got some cattle, and I am going to make a test of them: I am full of regret that I am unable to come.
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.
another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them: out. Please have me excused.’
Word-for-word swaps
- prove→try
- thee→out
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.