Matthew 15:2 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.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
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.
Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they may eat bread.'
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.
“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘How is it that your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? For they do not wash their hands when they eat food.’
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.
Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.
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.
Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? for they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.
Word-for-word swaps
- thy→your
- transgress→disobey
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.