Mark 12:38 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 he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and salutations in the marketplaces,
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 in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and [to have] salutations in the marketplaces,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And he said to them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and salutations in the marketplaces,
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 he was saying to them in his teaching, `Beware of the scribes, who will in long robes to walk, and love salutations in the market-places,
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.
In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
In the course of his teaching, Jesus said, “See that you are on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted in the streets with respect,
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
In the course of his teaching, Jesus said, ‘See that you are on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted in the streets with respect,
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 in his teaching he said, Be on your watch against the scribes, whose pleasure it is to go about in long robes and be respected in the market-places,
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.
In his teaching he said to them Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,
Word-for-word swaps
- And→In
- unto→to
- love→who
- go→walk
- clothing→robes
- salutations→to
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.