Luke 24:35 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 told what things in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
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 rehearsed the things [that happened] in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they related what [had happened] on the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
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 were telling the things in the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread,
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 related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
So they also related what had happened during their walk, and how they had recognized Jesus at the breaking of the bread.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
So they also related what had happened during their walk, and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of the bread.
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 gave an account of the things which had taken place on the way, and how, when he gave them bread, they had knowledge of 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.
they related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
Word-for-word swaps
- what→related
- in→that
- of→recognized
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.