Matthew 21:28 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.
But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
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.
But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But what think ye? A man had two children, and coming to the first he said, Child, go to-day, work in [my] vineyard.
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 what think ye? A man had two children, and having come to the first, he said, Child, go, to-day be working in my vineyard.'
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.
But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
What do you think of this? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the elder and said ‘Go and work in the vineyard today my son.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
What do you think of this? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the elder and said “Go and work in the vineyard today my son.”
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.
But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden.
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.
But what do you think A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
Word-for-word swaps
- day→today
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.