Mark 10:40 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.
But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but for whom it is prepared.
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.
but to sit on my right hand or on [my] left hand is not mine to give; but [it is for them] for whom it hath been prepared.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it is prepared.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
but to sit on my right and on my left, is not mine to give, but--to those for whom it hath been prepared.'
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.
but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”
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 as to a seat at my right or at my left – that is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
but as to a seat at my right or at my left – that is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’
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.
But to be seated at my right hand or at my left is not for me to give: but it is for those for whom it has been made ready.
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.
But to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give; but for whom it has been prepared.
Word-for-word swaps
- on→at
- is→has
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.