Luke 16:31 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 he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
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 he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among [the] dead will they be persuaded.
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 he said to him, If Moses and the prophets they do not hear, neither if one may rise out of the dead will they be persuaded.'
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.
“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets,’ answered Abraham, ‘they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.’”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
“If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets,” answered Abraham, “they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.”’
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 he said to him, If they will not give attention to Moses and the prophets, they will not be moved even if someone comes back from the dead.
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.
he said to him, If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rises from the dead.’”
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- not→don’t
- though→if
- rose→rises
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.