Matthew 27:63 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.
Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
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.
saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
saying, Sir, we have called to mind that that deceiver said when he was still alive, After three days I arise.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
saying, `Sir, we have remembered that that deceiver said while yet living, After three days I do rise;
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.
saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Sir, we remember that, during his lifetime, that impostor said ‘I will rise after three days.’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Sir, we remember that, during his lifetime, that impostor said “I will rise after three days.”
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.
Saying, Sir, we have in mind how that false man said, while he was still living, After three days I will come again from the dead.
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.
Saying, Sir, we remember what that deceiver said, while he was still alive, After three days I will rise again.’
Word-for-word swaps
- that→what
- yet→still
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.