Luke 19:14 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.
But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this to reign over us.
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 his citizens hated him, and sent an ambassage after him, saying, We will not that this man reign over us.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying, We will not that this [man] should reign over us.
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 his citizens were hating him, and did send an embassy after him, saying, We do not wish this one to reign over us.
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 his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But his subjects hated him and sent envoys after him to say ‘We will not have this man as our king.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But his subjects hated him and sent envoys after him to say “We will not have this man as our king.”
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 his people had no love for him, and sent representatives after him, saying, We will not have this man for our ruler.
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 his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
Word-for-word swaps
- message→an
- have→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.