Matthew 15:4 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.
For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
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.
For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for God did command, saying, Honour thy father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother--let him die the death;
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.
For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For God said – ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who abuses his father or mother shall suffer death,’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For God said – “Honour your father and mother,” and “Anyone who abuses his father or mother shall suffer death,”
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.
For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death.
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.
For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
Word-for-word swaps
- thy→Honor
- mother→your
- curseth→who
- death→be
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.