Mark 8:4 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 his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these with bread here in the wilderness?
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 his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to satisfy these with bread here in a desert place?
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 his disciples answered him, `Whence shall any one be able these here to feed with bread in a wilderness?'
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.
His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Where will it be possible,” his disciples answered, “to get sufficient bread for these people in this lonely place?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Where will it be possible,’ his disciples answered, ‘to get sufficient bread for these people in this lonely place?’
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 his disciples said in answer, How will it be possible to get enough bread for these men here in a waste place?
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.
his disciples answered him, From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
Word-for-word swaps
- man→where
- wilderness→a
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.