Mark 5:23 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 besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
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 beseecheth him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: [I pray thee], that thou come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be made whole, and live.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and he besought him much, saying, My little daughter is at extremity; [I pray] that thou shouldest come and lay thy hands upon her so that she may be healed, and may live.
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 calling upon him much, saying--`My little daughter is at the last extremity--that having come, thou mayest lay on her thy hands, so that she may be saved, and she shall live;'
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.
and begged him much, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
saying, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may recover and live.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
saying, ‘My little daughter is at death’s door. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may recover and live.’
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 made strong prayers to him, saying, My little daughter is near to death: it is my prayer that you will come and put your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and have life.
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.
And begged him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.
Word-for-word swaps
- besought→begged
- greatly→much
- lieth→is
- thy→your
- healed→made
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.