Matthew 24:22 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.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
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.
And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect`s sake those days shall be shortened.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short.
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 if those days were not shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but because of the chosen, shall those days be shortened.
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.
Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
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.
Had not those days been limited, not a single soul would escape; but for the sake of God’s people a limit will be put to 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.
And if those days had not been made short there would have been no salvation for any, but because of the saints those days will be made short.
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.
Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
Word-for-word swaps
- except→Unless
- be→had
- be→would
- shall→will
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.