Luke 8:45 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 Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press and sayest thou, Who touched me?
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 Jesus said, Who is it that touched me? And when all denied, Peter said, and they that were with him, Master, the multitudes press thee and crush [thee].
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And Jesus said, Who has touched me? But all denying, Peter and those with him said, Master, the crowds close thee in and press upon thee, and sayest thou, Who has touched me?
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 Jesus said, `Who is it that touched me?' and all denying, Peter and those with him said, `Master, the multitudes press thee, and throng thee, and thou dost say, Who is it that touched me!'
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.
Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked; and, while everyone was denying having done so, Peter exclaimed, “Why, Sir, the people are crowding around you and pressing against you!”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked; and, while everyone was denying having done so, Peter exclaimed, ‘Why, Sir, the people are crowding round you and pressing against you!’
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 Jesus said, Who was touching me? And when they all said, It is not I, Peter and those who were with him said, Master, the people are pushing round you on every side.
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.
Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, it, Peter and those with him said, Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, Who touched me?’”
Word-for-word swaps
- were→those
- and→multitudes
- thou→jostle
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.