Luke 7:3 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 when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
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 heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, asking him that he would come and save his servant.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and having heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, begging him that he might come and save his bondman.
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 having heard about Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, beseeching him, that having come he might thoroughly save his servant.
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 heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his servant.
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, hearing about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, with the request that he would come and save his slave’s life.
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 when news of Jesus came to his ears, he sent to him rulers of the Jews, requesting that he would come and make his servant well.
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 heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his servant.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→about
- unto→to
- beseeching→asking
- would→to
- heal→save
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.