Matthew 26:53 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.
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
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.
Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Or thinkest thou that I cannot now call upon my Father, and he will furnish me more than twelve legions of angels?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
dost thou think that I am not able now to call upon my Father, and He will place beside me more than twelve legions of messengers?
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.
Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
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.
Do you think that I cannot ask my Father for help, when he would at once send to my aid more than twelve legions of angels?
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.
Does it not seem possible to you that if I make request to my Father he will even now send me an army of angels?
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.
Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Word-for-word swaps
- thou→Or
- to→couldn’t
- give→would
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.