Matthew 23:3 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.
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
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.
all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, [these] do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
all things therefore, whatever they may tell you, do and keep. But do not after their works, for they say and do not,
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
all, then, as much as they may say to you to observe, observe and do, but according to their works do not, for they say, and do not;
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.
All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.
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.
Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they tell preach but do not practice.
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.
All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not.
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.
All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do; but don’t do their works: for they say, and don’t do
Word-for-word swaps
- whatsoever→whatever
- bid→tell
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.