Matthew 4:16 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.
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
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.
The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
the people sitting in darkness has seen a great light, and to those sitting in [the] country and shadow of death, to them has light sprung up.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
the people that is sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death--light arose to them.'
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.
the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
The people who were living in darkness have seen a great light, and, for those who were living in the shadow-land of death, a light has dawned!’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
The people who were living in darkness have seen a great light, and, for those who were living in the shadow-land of death, a light has dawned!”
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.
The people who were in the dark saw a great light, and to those in the land of the shade of death did the dawn come up.
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.
The people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region and shadow of death to them light has dawned.”
Word-for-word swaps
- which→who
- which→those
- up→has
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.