Matthew 26:60 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.
But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
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 they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. But at the last two false witnesses came forward
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 they did not find; and many false witnesses having come near, they did not find; and at last two false witnesses having come near,
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.
and they found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward,
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.
but they did not find any, although many came forward with false evidence. Later on, however, two men came forward and said,
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 they were not able to get it, though a number of false witnesses came.
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.
and they found none: Even though many false witnesses came, forward, they found none. But At last two false witnesses, came forward,
Word-for-word swaps
- But→and
- yea→Even
- found→forward
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.