Mark 4:21 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, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
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 he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, [and] not to be put on the stand?
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, Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel or under the couch? [Is it] not that it should be set upon the lamp-stand?
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 said to them, `Doth the lamp come that under the measure it may be put, or under the couch--not that it may be put on the lamp-stand?
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.
He said to them, “Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
Jesus said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under the couch, instead of being put on the lamp-stand?
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Jesus said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under the couch, instead of being put on the lamp-stand?
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 he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?
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.
he said to them, Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- candle→the
- bushel→basket
- set→Isn’t
- candlestick→stand
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.