Luke 9:42 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 as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
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 as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare [him] grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But as he was yet coming, the demon tore him and dragged him all together. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child and gave him back to his father.
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 as he is yet coming near, the demon rent him, and tore him sore, and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the youth, and gave him back to his father.
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.
While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
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.
While the boy was coming up to Jesus, the demon dashed him down and threw him into convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the foul spirit, and cured the boy, and gave him back to his father.
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 while he was coming, he was pushed violently down and twisted by the evil spirit. But Jesus gave sharp orders to the unclean spirit, and made the boy well, and gave him back to his father.
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.
While he was still coming, the demon threw him down, and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Word-for-word swaps
- as→While
- a→still
- devil→demon
- And→convulsed
- child→boy
- delivered→gave
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.