Mark 14:18 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 as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
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 they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you shall betray me, [even] he that eateth with me.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And as they lay at table and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you shall deliver me up; he who is eating with me.
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 they are reclining, and eating, Jesus said, `Verily I say to you--one of you, who is eating with me--shall deliver me up.'
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.
As they sat and were eating, Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, one of you will betray me—he who eats with me.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
and when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you that one of you is going to betray me – one who is eating with me.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
and when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you that one of you is going to betray me – one who is eating with me.’
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 while they were seated taking food, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, One of you will be false to me, one who is taking food with me.
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.
as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, One of you will betray me—he who eats with me.
Word-for-word swaps
- eat→were
- Verily→Most
- unto→tell
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.