Luke 6:41 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 why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
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 why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother`s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But why lookest thou on the mote which is in the eye of thy brother, but perceivest not the beam which is in thine own eye?
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 why dost thou behold the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and the beam that is in thine own eye dost not consider?
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.
Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?
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.
And why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone’s eye, while you pay no attention at all to the plank of wood in your own?
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 why do you take note of the grain of dust in your brother's eye, but take no note of the bit of wood which is in your eye?
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.
why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?
Word-for-word swaps
- thou→do
- mote→speck
- thy→your
- not→don’t
- thine→your
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.