Matthew 8:24 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, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
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 behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and behold, [the water] became very agitated on the sea, so that the ship was covered by the waves; but *he* slept.
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 lo, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves, but he was sleeping,
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.
Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
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.
Suddenly so great a storm came up on the sea, that the waves broke right over the boat. But Jesus was asleep;
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 there came up a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was sleeping.
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.
behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
Word-for-word swaps
- in→violent
- insomuch→so
- ship→boat
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.