Luke 22:56 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 a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
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 a certain maid seeing him as he sat in the light [of the fire], and looking stedfastly upon him, said, This man also was with him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And a certain maid, having seen him sitting by the light, and having fixed her eyes upon him, said, And this [man] was with him.
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 a certain maid having seen him sitting at the light, and having earnestly looked at him, she said, `And this one was with him!'
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.
A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Presently a maidservant saw him sitting near the blaze of the fire. She looked carefully at him and said, “Why, this man was one of his companions!”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Presently a maidservant saw him sitting near the blaze of the fire. She looked carefully at him and said, ‘Why, this man was one of his companions!’
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 a certain woman-servant, seeing him in the light of the fire, and looking at him with attention, said, This man was with him.
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.
a certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, This man also was with him.
Word-for-word swaps
- beheld→servant
- by→in
- fire→light
- upon→looking
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.