Matthew 28:11 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.
Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
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 while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And as they went, behold, some of the watch went into the city, and brought word to the chief priests of all that had taken place.
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 while they are going on, lo, certain of the watch having come to the city, told to the chief priests all the things that happened,
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 while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.
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.
While they were still on their way, some of the guard came into the city, and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
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.
Now, while they were going, some of the watchmen came into the town and gave news to the chief priests of all the things which had taken place.
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 while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.
Word-for-word swaps
- when→while
- watch→guards
- unto→told
- done→had
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.