Luke 5:4 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.
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
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 when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But when he ceased speaking, he said to Simon, Draw out into the deep [water] and let down your nets for a haul.
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 when he left off speaking, he said unto Simon, `Put back to the deep, and let down your nets for a draught;'
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.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Push off into deep water, and throw out your nets for a haul.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Push off into deep water, and throw out your nets for a haul.’
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 when his talk was ended, he said to Simon, Go out into deep water, and let down your nets for fish.
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.
when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
Word-for-word swaps
- left→finished
- unto→to
- Launch→Put
- draught→catch
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.