Luke 19:24 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 them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give to him that hath ten pounds.
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 them that stood by, Take away from him the pound, and give it unto him that hath the ten pounds.
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 those that stood by, Take from him the mina and give [it] to him who has the ten minas.
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 to those standing by he said, Take from him the pound, and give to him having the ten pounds--
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 those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Take away from him the ten pounds,’ he said to those standing by, ‘and give them to the one who has the hundred.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Take away from him the ten pounds,” he said to those standing by, “and give them to the one who has the hundred.”
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 the others who were near, Take the pound away from him, and give it to the man who has ten.
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 those who stood by, Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
Word-for-word swaps
- that→to
- hath→who
- pounds→minas
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.