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!