Luke 23:14 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.
Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse 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 said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
said to them, Ye have brought to me this man as turning away the people [to rebellion], and behold, I, having examined him before you, have found nothing criminal in this man as to the things of which ye accuse 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.
said unto them, `Ye brought to me this man as perverting the people, and lo, I before you having examined, found in this man no fault in those things ye bring forward against 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.
and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and behold, having examined him before you, I found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse 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.
and said to them, “You brought this man before me charged with misleading the people; and yet, for my part, though I examined him before you, I did not find this man to blame for any of the things of which you accuse him;
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
and said to them, ‘You brought this man before me charged with misleading the people; and yet, for my part, though I examined him before you, I did not find this man to blame for any of the things of which you accuse him;
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.
You say that this man has been teaching the people evil things: now I, after going into the question before you, see nothing wrong in this man in connection with the things which you have said against 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.
and Said to them, “You brought this man to me, as one that perverts the people: and, behold, having examined him before you, I found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him:
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- have→You
- perverteth→perverts
- have→I
- in→basis
- touching→concerning
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.