Luke 9:9 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 Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
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 Herod said, John I beheaded: but who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And Herod said, John *I* have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things? and he sought to see him.
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 Herod said, `John I did behead, but who is this concerning whom I hear such things?' and he was seeking to see him.
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.
Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
But Herod himself said, “John I beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things?” And he endeavored to see him.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
But Herod himself said, ‘John I beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things?’ And he endeavoured to see him.
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 Herod said, I put John to death: but who is this, of whom such stories are given to me? And he had a desire to see him.
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.
Herod said, John I beheaded: but who is this, about whom I hear such things? he sought to see him.
Word-for-word swaps
- of→about
- desired→sought
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.