Luke 6:39 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 he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
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 he spake also a parable unto them, Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he spoke also a parable to them: Can a blind [man] lead a blind [man]? shall not both fall into [the] ditch?
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 he spake a simile to them, `Is blind able to lead blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?
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.
He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit?
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Then, speaking in parables, Jesus said, “Can one blind person guide another? Will they not both fall into a ditch?
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Then, speaking in parables, Jesus said, ‘Can one blind person guide another? Will they not both fall into a ditch?
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 he gave them teaching in the form of a story, saying, Is it possible for one blind man to be guide to another? will they not go falling together into a hole?
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.
he spoke a parable to them, Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit?
Word-for-word swaps
- spake→spoke
- unto→to
- lead→guide
- shall→Won’t
- ditch→a
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.