Luke 15:32 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.
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
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 it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive [again]; and [was] lost, and is found.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But it was right to make merry and rejoice, because this thy brother was dead and has come to life again, and was lost and has been found.
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 to be merry, and to be glad, it was needful, because this thy brother was dead, and did live again, he was lost, and was found.'
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 it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
We could but make merry and rejoice, for here is your brother who was dead, and is alive; who was lost, and is found.’”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
We could but make merry and rejoice, for here is your brother who was dead, and is alive; who was lost, and is found.”’
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.
But it was right to be glad and to have a feast; for this your brother, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away and has come back.
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 It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad: for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; He was lost, and is found.’”
Word-for-word swaps
- merry→appropriate
- thy→your
- and→He
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.