Luke 4:17 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 there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
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 there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And [the] book of the prophet Esaias was given to him; and having unrolled the book he found the place where it was written,
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 there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written:
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.
The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
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.
He was given the book of the prophet Isaiah; and Jesus opened the book and found the place where it says –
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 the book of the prophet Isaiah was given to him and, opening the book, he came on the place where it is said,
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.
the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. he opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
Word-for-word swaps
- when→Isaiah
- he→and
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.