Mark 11:33 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 they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
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 they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they answering say to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus [answering] says to them, Neither do *I* tell you by what authority I do these things.
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 answering they say to Jesus, `We have not known;' and Jesus answering saith to them, `Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.'
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.
They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
So their answer to Jesus was – “We do not know.” “Then I,” replied Jesus, “refuse to tell you what authority I have to do these things.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
So their answer to Jesus was – ‘We do not know.’ ‘Then I,’ replied Jesus, ‘refuse to tell you what authority I have to do these things.’
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 they said in answer to Jesus, We have no idea. And Jesus said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.
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.
they answered Jesus, We don’t know.” Jesus said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Word-for-word swaps
- And→don’t
- unto→said
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.