Luke 2:8-21 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Luke

Chapter 2

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8. και ποιμενες ησαν εν τη χωρα τη αυτη αγραυλουντες και φυλασσοντες φυλακας της νυκτος επι την ποιμνην αυτων And there were in the same country shepherds living in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9. και ιδου αγγελος κυριου επεστη αυτοις και δοξα κυριου περιελαμψεν αυτους και εφοβηθησαν φοβον μεγαν And behold[1], an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10. και ειπεν αυτοις ο αγγελος μη φοβεισθε ιδου γαρ ευαγγελιζομαι υμιν χαραν μεγαλην ητις εσται παντι τω λαω And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

11. οτι ετεχθη υμιν σημερον σωτηρ ος εστιν χριστος κυριος εν πολει δαυιδ For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12. και τουτο υμιν το σημειον ευρησετε βρεφος εσπαργανωμενον [2] κειμενον εν [3] φατνη And this is the sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13. και εξαιφνης εγενετο συν τω αγγελω πληθος στρατιας ουρανιου αινουντων τον θεον και λεγοντων And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14. δοξα εν υψιστοις θεω και επι γης ειρηνη εν ανθρωποις ευδοκια[4] “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

15. και εγενετο ως απηλθον απ αυτων εις τον ουρανον οι αγγελοι και οι ανθρωποι[5] οι ποιμενες ειπον[6] προς αλληλους διελθωμεν δη εως βηθλεεμ και ιδωμεν το ρημα τουτο το γεγονος ο ο κυριος εγνωρισεν ημιν And it happened as the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16. και ηλθον[7] σπευσαντες και ανευρον την τε μαριαμ και τον ιωσηφ και το βρεφος κειμενον εν τη φατνη And they came with haste and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

17. ιδοντες δε διεγνωρισαν[8] περι του ρηματος του λαληθεντος αυτοις περι του παιδιου τουτου And when they saw it, they made widely known the saying that was spoken to them about this child.

18. και παντες οι ακουσαντες εθαυμασαν περι των λαληθεντων υπο των ποιμενων προς αυτους And all who heard it wondered at those things that were spoken to them by the shepherds.

19. η δε μαριαμ παντα συνετηρει τα ρηματα ταυτα συμβαλλουσα εν τη καρδια αυτης But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

20. και υπεστρεψαν[9] οι ποιμενες δοξαζοντες και αινουντες τον θεον επι πασιν οις ηκουσαν και ειδον καθως ελαληθη προς αυτους And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

21. και οτε επλησθησαν ημεραι οκτω του περιτεμειν αυτον και εκληθη το ονομα αυτου ιησους το κληθεν υπο του αγγελου προ του συλληφθηναι[10] αυτον εν τη κοιλια And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise him[11], his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

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[1] NA-Text omits “behold”. This word is supported by all-text types and the Latin tradition. It is highly unlikely that everybody had the same idea of inserting the same word here in different transmission lines. Also, the Diatessaron reflecting a text of the 100’s included this word.

[2] NA-Text and Vg-St add “και” (Latin equivalent: “et” – “and”). The inclusion is supported by codex Θ and the Diatessaron. The omission is supported by codices A, B, K, Γ, Δ, 053, family of manuscripts ƒ¹³, minuscules 28, 700, 1010 and 1424, the Byzantine manuscripts, the old Latin codex it^a and Theophylact. Codices א* and D omit both “and” and “lying”. The support for this addition to the Greek text is very weak.

[3] NA-Text, PT, WPF³⁵ and M-Text omit the definite article “τη”, which is supported by codices א, A, B, D, K, Γ, Δ, Θ, 053, family of manuscripts ƒ¹³, minuscules 28, 700, 1010 and 1424 and the Byzantine manuscripts. The inclusion of the article is supported by Theophylact. It is evident that this article does not belong in the original text. This natural addition to the text has been removed, following the NA-Text and the M-Text.

[4] NA-Text and Vg-St read “ευδοκιας” (genitive instead of nominative), rendering “men with whom he is well pleased” or “men of good will” (Latin equivalent: “hominibus bonae voluntatis”). This genitival form of the noun “good will” is supported by codices א*, A, B*, D, W, the old Latin codices it^a, it^aur, it^b, it^β, it^c, it^d, it^e, it^f, (it^ff2), it^l, it^q and it^r1, the Sahidic Coptic and the Gothic version, Irenaeus^lat (Against heresies 3:10:3), Origen^gr(2/5), Origen^lat (Homily 12 on the gospel of Luke, extant only in Latin in a translation by Jerome), Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrosiaster, Hilary, Jerome¹⁵ and Augustine⁴¹. The nominative found in the Byzantine text is supported by codices א², B², E, G, H, K, L, P, Δ, Θ, Ξ, Ψ, 053, 0233^vid, both families of manuscripts ƒ¹ and ƒ¹³, minuscules 28, 157, 180, 205, 565, 579, 597, 700, 892, 1006, 1009, 1010, 1071, 1079, 1195, 1216, 1230, 1241, 1242, 1243, 1253, 1292, 1342, 1344, 1365, 1424, 1505, 1546, 1646, 2148, 2174, the Byzantine manuscripts, some manuscripts of the Palestinian Syriac, the Bohairic Coptic, the Syriac Sinaiticus, the Armenian, the Ethiopic, the Georgian, the Slavic version, the Harklean Syriac version, Origen^3/5, Eusebius, Basil, the Apostolic Constitutions, Gregory of Nazianzus, Didymus the Blind, Epiphanius (Panarion, against the Ebionites, 30:29:1 & Antidicomarians, 78:15:1), Chrysostom (homily 25 and 68 on the gospel of Matthew, homily 3 on the letter to the Colossians and homily 15 on the gospel of John), Severian, Marcus Eremita, Cyril of Alexandria (commentary on Luke 2:14, Byzantine sense confirmed in his commentary), Hesychius, Theodoret and Theophylact. The Diatessaron (section II), the Peshitta and Aphrahat read “and good hope to men”, which is closer to the Byzantine reading, having God as the subject and giver of good things to men. Jerome used this verse quite often in his writings and he never appeared to have suspected that his Latin rendering was incorrect. Irenaeus should not be used as a strong and early witness for the NA-Text, because this portion of his book, extant only in Latin, was probably adjusted to the reading found in the Latin vulgate. Same thing for Origen’s homily on Luke 2:13-16 that is extant only in Latin. I was not able to find this verse quoted in any of Cyril’s catechetical lessons. Origen quoted the exact Byzantine form of this text in his commentary on the gospel of John (Gr.: “δοξα εν υψιστοις θεω και επι γης ειρηνη εν ανθρωποις ευδοκια”, book 1, part 1, #13). And again, the very same Byzantine form in his book against Celsus (Book 1, chapter 60). The other two citations mentioned in the variant apparatus seem to be more Origen’s own writing and commentary using the word “ευδοκιας” than a quote from Luke 2:14. Origen in 200’s then should be counted as a witness for the Byzantine reading. The witnesses in the 300’s like codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus are probably showing a scribal adjustment to the text. The clause “and on earth peace toward men” is complete and does not need any complement. So, scribes likely thought that what was being offered to men on earth was “peace” only and then something was missing in the word “good will” to connect it to “men” once it could not take the place of “peace”, hence the addition of the letter “ς” to “good will” so as to create the reading “men of good will”. If Luke meant to say “men with whom he is well pleased”, he would probably have used a wording similar to Luke 3:22 with the verb in the third-person singular “ευδοκησεν”. Scribes noticed this non-original emendation in codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus and correct them in the 500’s or 600’s. The attestation for the Byzantine reading is more ancient and more widespread and should be maintained in the text.

[5] NA-Text and Vg-St omit “και οι ανθρωποι”, “that the men”, before “the shepperds”. This clause is omitted by codices א, B, L, W, Θ, Ξ, family of manuscripts ƒ¹, minuscules 565, 700, 1071, 1365, the old Latin codices it^a, it^aur, it^b, it^β, it^e, it^f, it^ff2, it^l and it^r1, the Syriac Sinaiticus, the Peshitta, the Palestinian Syriac, the Sahidic Coptic, the Bohairic Coptic, the Armenian, the Georgian version, the Diatessaron, Origen^lat, Eusebius and Augustine. The inclusion is supported by codices A, D, K, P, Δ, Ψ, 053, family of manuscripts ƒ¹³, minuscules 28, 33, 892, 1009, 1010, 1079, 1195, 1216, 1230, 1241, 1242, 1253, 1344, 1546, 1646, 2148, 2174, the Byzantine manuscripts, the old Latin codices (it^c), it^d, it^q, the Harklean Syriac, the Gothic version and Theophylact. It is possible that this omission is the product of a scribal error caused by parablepsis (αγγελοι και οι ανθρωποι, thus missing “that the men”) or that it was removed for being superfluous and interrupting the natural flow of the text. And because this is the harder reading, it has been kept in the text. It is almost impossible, if not original, that scribes in three different transmission lines would have added the very same 3 words to make the text clumsier.

[6] NA-Text and Vg-St read “ελαλουν” (Latin equivalent: “loquebantur”, interchangeable verb used in the imperfect tense instead of aorist), which is supported by codices א, B, W and minuscule 565. The TR is supported codices A, D, L, Θ, Ξ, Ψ, 053, both families of manuscripts ƒ¹ and ƒ¹³, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The Byzantine reading is supported by all text-types whereas “ελαλουν” is Alexandrian, which suggests a local scribal adjustment to the text.

[7] NA-Text reads “ηλθαν”, same verbal tense spelled differently.

[8] NA-Text reads “εγνωρισαν”. This reduction may have been caused by a parableptic error (δε διεγνωρισαν, thus missing “δι”).

[9] NA-Text, WPF³⁵, PT and M-Text read “υπεστρεψαν”, which is supported by codices א, B, D, Θ, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The Greek text has been corrected following the NA-text and the M-Text.

[10] NA-Text reads “συλλημφθηναι”, same verbal tense spelled differently.

[11] NA-Text, WPF³⁵ and M-Text replace “the child” with “him”, which is supported by codices א, B, Θ, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The TR is supported by codices D, (Γ), 053, families of manuscripts ƒ¹³, minuscules 28, 33, the old Latin codices it^β, it^e and it^r1, the Syriac Sinaiticus, the Peshitta, the Diatessaron and Origen^lat. “The child” is probably a clarification added to the text. The Greek text and the translation have been adjusted following the NA-text and the M-Text.

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. Vg-St: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. PT: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns! 

Luke 2:1-7 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Luke

Chapter 2

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1. εγενετο δε εν ταις ημεραις εκειναις εξηλθεν δογμα παρα καισαρος αυγουστου απογραφεσθαι πασαν την οικουμενην And it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2. αυτη η[1] απογραφη πρωτη εγενετο ηγεμονευοντος της συριας κυρηνιου This census was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3. και επορευοντο παντες απογραφεσθαι εκαστος εις την ιδιαν[2] πολιν And all went to be registered, each to his own city. 4. ανεβη δε και ιωσηφ απο της γαλιλαιας εκ πολεως ναζαρεθ[3] εις την ιουδαιαν εις πολιν δαυιδ ητις καλειται βηθλεεμ δια το ειναι αυτον εξ οικου και πατριας δαυιδ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5. απογραψασθαι συν μαριαμ τη μεμνηστευμενη[4] αυτω [γυναικι] ουση εγκυω to be registered with Mary, his betrothed [wife] [5], being pregnant. 6. εγενετο δε εν τω ειναι αυτους εκει επλησθησαν αι ημεραι του τεκειν αυτην And while they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. 7. και ετεκεν τον υιον αυτης τον πρωτοτοκον και εσπαργανωσεν αυτον και ανεκλινεν αυτον εν [6] φατνη διοτι ουκ ην αυτοις τοπος εν τω καταλυματι And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. [1] NA-Text omits the definite article “η”. [2] NA-Text reads “εαυτου”. Those can be used interchangeably in this context. [3] NA-Text reads “ναζαρετ”. [4] NA-Text reads “εμνηστευμενη”. See footnote in Luke 1:27. [5] NA-Text omits “wife”. This omission is supported by codices א, B, C*, D, L, W, Ξ, 0177, family of manuscripts ƒ1, minuscules 565, 700, old Latin, the Coptic versions, the Diatessaron and Eusebius. The inclusion is supported by codices A, Cc, Δ, Θ, Ψ, 053, family of manuscripts ƒ13, minuscule 28, the Byzantine manuscripts, the Harklean Syriac version and Theophylact. The Syriac Sinaiticus manuscript and the old Latin codices itaur, itb and itc replace “betrothed” by “wife”. It is hard to imagine that scribes would add the qualifier “wife” for Mary in this context, especially between the words “betrothed” and “pregnant”. Even harder is the fact that scribes in three different transmission lines plus the Latin scriptures had all the same idea of adding the same word, in the same place in this context. What may have happened here was actually the removal of the word to rule out any misconception on the part of listeners of this portion of the gospel. Also, looking at the related passages in Matthew 1:18 and Luke 1:27, scribes would have noticed that whenever the term betrothed is used for Mary, it was never accompanied by the word “wife”. But given that there is a strong agreement between the early witnesses around the non-inclusion of this word, it is more prudent to bracket it in the Greek text and the translation. [6] NA-Text omits the definite article “τη”, which is supported by codices א, A, B, D, L, W, Θ, Ξ, minuscule 700 and Eusebius. The inclusion is supported by codices Ψ, 053, both family of manuscripts ƒ1 and ƒ13, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. This article is a natural addition to the text and has been removed, following the NA-Text.

 

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. Vg-St: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. PT: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!

Luke 1:67-80 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Luke

Chapter 1

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67. και ζαχαριας ο πατηρ αυτου επλησθη πνευματος αγιου και προεφητευσεν[1] λεγων And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

68. ευλογητος κυριος ο θεος του ισραηλ οτι επεσκεψατο και εποιησεν λυτρωσιν τω λαω αυτου “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people;

69. και ηγειρεν κερας σωτηριας ημιν εν τω[2] οικω δαυιδ του[3] παιδος αυτου and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

70. καθως ελαλησεν δια στοματος των αγιων των[4] απ αιωνος προφητων αυτου as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old,

71. σωτηριαν εξ εχθρων ημων και εκ χειρος παντων των μισουντων ημας salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

72. ποιησαι ελεος μετα των πατερων ημων και μνησθηναι διαθηκης αγιας αυτου to show mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,

73. ορκον ον ωμοσεν προς αβρααμ τον πατερα ημων the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,

74. του δουναι ημιν αφοβως εκ χειρος των εχθρων ημων[5] ρυσθεντας λατρευειν αυτω to grant to us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,

75. εν οσιοτητι και δικαιοσυνη ενωπιον αυτου πασας τας ημερας [6] ημων in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76. και συ [7] παιδιον προφητης υψιστου κληθηση προπορευση γαρ προ προσωπου κυριου ετοιμασαι οδους αυτου And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the[8] Lord to prepare his ways,

77. του δουναι γνωσιν σωτηριας τω λαω αυτου εν αφεσει αμαρτιων αυτων to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,

78. δια σπλαγχνα ελεους θεου ημων εν οις επεσκεψατο[9] ημας ανατολη εξ υψους because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the sunrise from on high has visited us,

79. επιφαναι τοις εν σκοτει και σκια θανατου καθημενοις του κατευθυναι τους ποδας ημων εις οδον ειρηνης to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80. το δε παιδιον ηυξανεν και εκραταιουτο πνευματι και ην εν ταις ερημοις εως ημερας αναδειξεως αυτου προς τον ισραηλ And the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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[1] NA-Text reads “επροφητευσεν”, same verbal tense, different spelling.

[2] NA-Text omits the definite article “τω”

[3] NA-Text omits the definite article “του”.

[4] NA-Text omits “των” and renders “his holy prophets from of old”.

[5] NA-Text omits “τω” and “ημων” and renders “from the hand of enemies”. The omission may have been caused by visual homoeoteleuton (των εχθρων ημων, thus missing the article and the pronoun). The inclusion is strongly supported by the collective witness of all text-types, all minuscules except 1546* that was later corrected to include these words, the versions and the fathers. And the inclusion is what has been preserved in the Latin scriptures as attested by the vulgate of Stuttgart and the Clementine vulgate and in the Greek scriptures as found in the Byzantine compilations PT, WPF³⁵ and the M-Text. The Complutensian Polyglot also read “our enemies” in both the Greek and the Latin columns, even though the definite article “τω” is missing in the Greek text.

[6] NA-Text and Vg-St omit “life” and render “all our days” (Gr.: “πασαις ταις ημεραις ημων”, Latin equivalent: “omnibus diebus nostris”). This omission is supported by papyrus 4, codices א A, B, C, D, L, R, W, Ψ, 0130, 0177, minuscules 565 and 1035, the Diatessaron and Irenaeus (Against heresies, 4:20:4). The inclusion is supported by codices Γ, Θ, 053, both family of manuscripts ƒ¹ and ƒ¹³, minuscules 28 and 1424, the Byzantine manuscripts, the Syriac Sinaiticus manuscript, Origen and Theophylact. The omission is supported by all text types and a good assortment of early witnesses. “life” was probably added to improve the meaning of the clause. “Life” has then been omitted from the Greek text and the translation, following the Byzantine reading in the accusative according to codices א, A, C, D, R, Ψ, 0130, 0177, Origen and Theophylact and not the dative from the NA-Text.

[7] NA-Text adds “δε” and renders “And you also”.

[8] NA-Text omits “the face of” and renders “you will go before the Lord”. This omission has the limited support of the Alexandrian text whereas the inclusion is supported by all text-types, including some Alexandrian majuscules.

[9] NA-Text reads “επισκεψεται” (future instead of aorist). 

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. Vg-St: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. PT: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!