Luke 24:29 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 they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
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 they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they constrained him, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is declining. And he entered in to stay with them.
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 they constrained him, saying, `Remain with us, for it is toward evening,' and the day did decline, and he went in to remain with them.
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.
They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
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 they pressed him not to do so. “Stay with us,” they said, “for it is getting towards evening, and the sun in already low.” So Jesus went in to stay with them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
but they pressed him not to do so. ‘Stay with us,’ they said, ‘for it is getting towards evening, and the sun in already low.’ So Jesus went in to stay with them.
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 they kept him back, saying, Do not go, for evening is near, the day is almost gone. And he went in with them.
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.
they urged him, saying, “Stay with us: for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” he went in to stay with them.
Word-for-word swaps
- constrained→urged
- Abide→Stay
- toward→almost
- And→almost
- tarry→stay
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.