Mark 6:27 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 immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
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 straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And immediately the king, having sent one of the guard, ordered his head to be brought. And he went out and beheaded him in the prison,
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 immediately the king having sent a guardsman, did command his head to be brought,
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.
Immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
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.
He immediately dispatched one of his bodyguard, with orders to bring John’s head. The man went and beheaded John in the prison,
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 straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison,
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.
immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
Word-for-word swaps
- executioner→out
- brought→bring
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.