Matthew 5:17 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.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
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.
Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
Think not that I am come to make void the law or the prophets; I am not come to make void, but to fulfil.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
`Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets--I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;
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.
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
“Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the prophets; I have not come to do away with them, but to complete them.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
‘Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the prophets; I have not come to do away with them, but to complete them.
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.
Let there be no thought that I have come to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have not come for destruction, but to make complete.
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.
“Don’t Think that I came to destroy the law, or the prophets: I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
Word-for-word swaps
- come→came
- not→didn’t
- fulfil→fulfill
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.