Luke 9:36 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 when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
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 the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And as the voice was [heard] Jesus was found alone: and *they* kept silence, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
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 when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone; and they were silent, and declared to no one in those days anything of what they have seen.
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 the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
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, as the voice ceased, Jesus was found alone. The apostles kept silence, and told no one about any of the things that they had seen.
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 after the voice was gone they saw that Jesus was by himself. And they kept quiet, and said nothing at that time to anyone of the things which they had seen.
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 the voice came, Jesus was found alone. they were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
Word-for-word swaps
- past→came
- close→were
- man→one
- those→the
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.