Luke 21:6 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.
these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
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.
As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
[As to] these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`These things that ye behold--days will come, in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.'
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.
“As for these things which you see, the days will come, in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“As for these things that you are looking at, a time is coming when not one stone will be left on another here. Every one will be thrown down.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘As for these things that you are looking at, a time is coming when not one stone will be left on another here. Every one will be thrown down.’
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.
As for these things which you see, the days will come when not one stone will be resting on another, but all will be broken down.
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.
“As for these things which you see, the days will come, in which there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.
Word-for-word swaps
- behold→you
- shall→will
- upon→on
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.