Matthew 19:13 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.
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
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.
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should lay his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Then there were brought to him little children that he might lay his hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
Then were brought near to him children that he might put hands on them and pray, and the disciples rebuked them.
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.
Then little children were brought to him, that he should lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.
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 some little children were brought to Jesus, for him to place his hands on them, and pray; but the disciples found fault with those who had brought them.
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.
Then some people took little children to him, so that he might put his hands on them in blessing: and the disciples said sharp words to them.
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.
Then little children were brought to him that he should lay his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- put→lay
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.