Luke 7:36 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 one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.
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 one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he entered into the Pharisee`s house, and sat down to meat.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But one of the Pharisees begged him that he would eat with him. And entering into the house of the Pharisee he took his place at table;
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 a certain one of the Pharisees was asking him that he might eat with him, and having gone into the house of the Pharisee he reclined (at meat),
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.
One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at the table.
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.
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, so Jesus went to his house and took his place at the table.
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 one of the Pharisees made a request that he would take a meal with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house and took his seat at the table.
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.
one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. he entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at the table.
Word-for-word swaps
- desired→invited
- would→to
- went→entered
- meat→at
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.