Bible Verses
Translation comparison

Tobit 11:6 in 2 translations

2 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.

King James Version
KJV

And when she espied him coming, she said to his father, Behold, thy son cometh, and the man that went with him.

1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.

Modern English

Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.

World English Bible
WEB

She saw him coming, and said to his father, “Behold, your son is coming with the man that went with him!”

2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.

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.

she saw him coming, and said to his father, Behold, your son is coming with the man that went with him.

Word-for-word swaps

  • espiedsaw
  • sheand
  • thyyour
  • andis

The verses either side

King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.

5Now Anna sat looking about toward the way for her son.
6And when she espied him coming, she said to his father, Behold, thy son cometh, and the man that went with him.
7Then said Raphael, I know, Tobias, that thy father will open his eyes.

Not shown for this verse: American Standard Version, Darby Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Open English Bible (US), Open English Bible (Commonwealth), Bible in Basic English. Most modern translations do not include the Apocrypha.