Mark 9:26 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 cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
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 having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and [the boy] became as one dead; insomuch that the more part said, He is dead.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And having cried out and torn [him] much, he came out; and he became as if dead, so that the most said, He is dead.
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 having cried, and rent him much, it came forth, and he became as dead, so that many said that he was dead,
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.
After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead; so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”
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.
With a loud cry the spirit threw the boy into repeated convulsions, and then came out from him. The boy looked like a corpse, so that most of them said that he was dead.
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 after crying out and shaking him violently, it came out: and the child became like one dead; so that most of them said, He is dead.
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.
After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him: The boy became like one dead; so much that most of them said, He is dead.
Word-for-word swaps
- cried→After
- rent→convulsing
- and→greatly
- as→The
- insomuch→so
- many→most
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.