Luke 4:2 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.
Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
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.
during forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
forty days, tempted of the devil; and in those days he did not eat anything, and when they were finished he hungered.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered,
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.
for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
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.
All that time he ate nothing; and, when it was over, he became hungry.
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.
For forty days, being tested by the Evil One. And he had no food in those days; and when they came to an end, he was in need of food.
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.
for forty days being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
Word-for-word swaps
- Being→for
- of→by
- And→He
- and→Afterward
- ended→completed
- hungered→was
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.