Matthew 6:28 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.
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
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.
And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And why are ye careful about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin;
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 about clothing why are ye anxious? consider well the lilies of the field; how do they grow? they do not labour, nor do they spin;
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.
Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,
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.
And why be anxious about clothing? Study the wild lilies, and how they grow. They neither toil nor spin;
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.
And why are you troubled about clothing? See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no thread:
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.
why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they don’t toil neither do they spin:
Word-for-word swaps
- raiment→are
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.