Matthew 26:17 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.
Now the first of the unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
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.
Now on the first [day] of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready for thee to eat the passover?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Now on the first [day] of [the feast of] unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
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 on the first day of the unleavened food came the disciples near to Jesus, saying to him, `Where wilt thou that we may prepare for thee to eat the passover?'
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.
Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
On the first day of the Festival of the unleavened bread, the disciples came up to Jesus, and said, “Where do you wish us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
On the first day of the Festival of the unleavened bread, the disciples came up to Jesus, and said, ‘Where do you wish us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’
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.
Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where are we to make ready for you to take the Passover meal?
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.
Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the passover?
Word-for-word swaps
- unto→to
- we→do
- thee→you
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.