Luke 5:15 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.
But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
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.
But so much the more went abroad the report concerning him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But the report concerning him was spread abroad still more, and great crowds came together to hear, and to be healed from their infirmities.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but the more was the report going abroad concerning him, and great multitudes were coming together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities,
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.
But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
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.
However, the story about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came together to listen to him, and to be cured of their illnesses;
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.
But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.
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.
But the report concerning him: spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→report
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.