Matthew 10:13 in 8 translations
6 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
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 if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
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 if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; and if it be not worthy, let your peace turn back to you.
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.
If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
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.
Then, if the house is worthy, let your blessing rest on it, but, if it is unworthy, let your blessing return on yourselves.
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 if the house is good enough, let your peace come on it: but if not, let your peace come back to you.
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.
if the household is worthy, let your peace come on it: but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
Word-for-word swaps
- be→household
- upon→on
- not→isn’t
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.