Luke 15:12 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 the younger of them said to father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth And he divided unto them living.
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 the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of [thy] substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give to me the share of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided to them what he was possessed of.
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 the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the portion of the substance falling to me, and he divided to them the living.
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.
The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them.
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 the younger of them said to his father ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ So the father divided the property between them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
and the younger of them said to his father “Father, give me my share of the inheritance.” So the father divided the property between them.
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 the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me that part of your property which will be mine. And he made division of his goods between them.
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.
the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me my share of your property.’ he divided his livelihood between them
Word-for-word swaps
- portion→my
- And→your
- unto→his
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.