Ruth 3:16 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.
And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
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 when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And she came to her mother-in-law; and she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
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 she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, `Who art thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to her.
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.
When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” She told her all that the man had done for her.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “Is it you, my daughter?” Then Ruth told Naomi all that the man had done for her.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, ‘Is it you, my daughter?’ Then Ruth told Naomi all that the man had done for her.
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.
And when she came back her mother-in-law said to her, How did it go with you, my daughter? And she gave her an account of all the man had done to her.
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.
when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter? she told her all that the man had done for her.
Word-for-word swaps
- law→mother
- thou→How
- to→for
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.