Matthew 28:20 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.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, unto the end of the world. Amen.
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.
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold, *I* am with you all the days, until the completion of the age.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days--till the full end of the age.'
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.
teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
and teaching them to lay to heart all the commands that I have given you; and, remember, I myself am with you every day until the close of the age.”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
and teaching them to lay to heart all the commands that I have given you; and, remember, I myself am with you every day until the close of the age.’
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.
Teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you: and see, I am ever with you, even to the end of the world.
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.
Teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Word-for-word swaps
- whatsoever→that
- lo→Behold
- unto→always
- world→age
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.