c. AD 175–225 — Papyrus 75. P75 contains “and they worshipped him.”
Earliest surviving Greek support: c. AD 175–225 — P75.
Luke 24:52
They Worshipped Him
KJV Reading Defended
And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
The KJV/TR includes 'and they worshipped him' in Luke 24:52, while the omission is mainly in Codex Bezae, some Old Latin witnesses, and Sinaitic Syriac.
Disputed unit
Presence of the phrase “worshipped him”, with the objectless προσκυνήσαντες form kept separate.
Short omitted phraseMajority Greek supportScant evidence against KJVLatin supportSyriac supportCoptic supportLectionary support
Evidence assessment
“Worshipped him” is carried by P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Washingtonianus and the broad Greek tradition, with Old Latin aur, c, f and q, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac and Coptic. Codex Bezae is the one Greek witness in the apparatus that omits it, and 700, 1344, 1253 and lectionary 253 carry an objectless “having worshipped”.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support
King James Bible reading
Luke 24:52 in the King James Bible
And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
Evidence sources
Where the evidence on this page comes from.
Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.
Governing apparatus and count scope
Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
- B. M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament
- H. A. G. Houghton, The Latin New Testament
- IGNTP, The New Testament in Greek: The Gospel According to St Luke, Parts 1–2 (OUP 1984, 1987)
- INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata
- Vetus Latina Gospel manuscript register (ITSEE, University of Birmingham)
- Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 3: Luke
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
The earliest reviewed support at a glance.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
The words “worshipped him”
The KJV worship clause is the overwhelming numerical Majority Text reading in Greek.
Estimated Greek support: More than 1,500 Greek manuscripts
This is a conservative working estimate based on the published Majority or Byzantine designation and the approximate number of continuous-text manuscripts that preserve the book. Lacunae and collation scope make the exact denominator vary by verse.
Source scope and denominator
Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
Greek support in the cited corpus
P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Washingtonianus and the Maj group
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
Codex Bezae, the sole named Greek omission witness
Lectionary evidence
Lectionaries contain the phrase
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
- Codex Bezae (05)
- Old Latin a, b, d, e, ff2, l
- Sinaitic Syriac
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
No entry listed
Printed editions
No entry listed
Complete source-scoped roster
Complete roster within the stated source scope.
This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.
Apparatus and roster scope
Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
- Greek support in cited scope
- P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Washingtonianus and the Maj group
- Greek competing evidence in cited scope
- Codex Bezae, the sole named Greek omission witness
- Evidence classification
- The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support
The phrase “worshipped him”
KJV/TR unit: καὶ αὐτοὶ προσκυνήσαντες αὐτόν
Greek manuscripts
Supports the KJV/TR formP75 01 02 03 04 032
Grouped evidence: Maj
Old Latin and Vulgate
Supports the KJV/TR formaur (VL15) c (VL6) f (VL10) q (VL13)
Grouped evidence: Vulgate tradition
Syriac and Coptic
Supports the KJV/TR formPeshitta Harklean Palestinian-Syriac
Grouped evidence: Coptic evidence on this line
Greek manuscripts
Related or qualified evidenceπροσκυνήσαντες without the object
700 1253 1344 L253
Grouped evidence: some Vulgate manuscripts
Greek manuscripts
Competing reading05
Old Latin, Syriac and other versions
Competing readinga (VL3) b (VL4) d (VL5) e (VL2) ff2 (VL8) l (VL11) Sinaitic Georgian-II
Lacunose
Non-directional evidenceCuretonian
Roster distinctions
- Four of the ten named Old Latin witnesses carry the exact phrase and six omit it.
- The Curetonian Syriac is lacunose here.
Evidence notes
Important distinctions in the evidence.
- Four of the ten named Old Latin witnesses carry the exact phrase and six omit it.
- The Curetonian Syriac is lacunose here.
Evidence assessment
Why the KJV reading is retained
“Worshipped him” is carried by P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Washingtonianus and the broad Greek tradition, with Old Latin aur, c, f and q, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac and Coptic. Codex Bezae is the one Greek witness in the apparatus that omits it, and 700, 1344, 1253 and lectionary 253 carry an objectless “having worshipped”.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support
Evidence represented on this page
Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.
GreekRepresented
LatinRepresented
Other versionsRepresented
FathersNot listed
Printed editionsNot listed
References
Editions and works cited.
Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.
Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 3: Luke. Luke 24:52, PDF p. 676.
IGNTP, The New Testament in Greek: The Gospel According to St Luke, Parts 1–2 (OUP 1984, 1987). Comprehensive Luke collation.
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.
Vetus Latina Gospel manuscripts register (ITSEE, University of Birmingham). Identity and physical date of the named Old Latin manuscripts.