Luke 24:32 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.
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
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 said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they said to one another, Was not our heart burning in us as he spoke to us on the way, [and] as he opened the scriptures to us?
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 said one to another, `Was not our heart burning within us, as he was speaking to us in the way, and as he was opening up to us the Writings?'
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 said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“How our hearts glowed,” the disciples said to each other, “while he was talking to us on the road, and when he explained the scriptures to us!”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘How our hearts glowed,’ the disciples said to each other, ‘while he was talking to us on the road, and when he explained the scriptures to us!’
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 they said to one another, Were not our hearts burning in us while he was talking to us on the way, making clear to us the holy Writings?
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 said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the scriptures? to us?”
Word-for-word swaps
- not→Weren’t
- burn→hearts
- with→spoke
- by→along
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.