Luke 24:30 in 8 translations
7 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 it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed and brake, and gave to 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 it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking [it] he gave to them.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And it came to pass as he was at table with them, having taken the bread, he blessed, and having broken it, gave it to 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 it came to pass, in his reclining (at meat) with them, having taken the bread, he blessed, and having broken, he was giving to 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.
When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
After he had taken his place at the table with them, he took the bread and said the blessing, and broke it, and gave it to them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
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 when he was seated with them at table, he took the bread, and said words of blessing and, making division of it, he gave it to 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.
When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread, and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.
Word-for-word swaps
- as→When
- meat→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.