Mark 14:51 in 8 translations
7 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 there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about naked and the young men laid hold on 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 a certain young man followed with him, having a linen cloth cast about him, over [his] naked [body]: and they lay hold on him;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And a certain young man followed him with a linen cloth cast about his naked [body]; and [the young men] seize 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 a certain young man was following him, having put a linen cloth about his naked body, and the young men lay hold on 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.
A certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth thrown around himself over his naked body. The young men grabbed 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
One young man did indeed follow him, wrapped only in a linen sheet. They tried to arrest him;
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
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 a certain young man went after him, with only a linen cloth about his body; and they put their hands on 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.
a certain young man, followed him, having a linen cloth thrown around himself over his naked body. the young men grabbed him:
Word-for-word swaps
- about→thrown
- and→body
- on→grabbed
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.