Fourth century onward — Latin transmission. The fuller rebuke and purpose saying circulated in the ancient Latin stream.
Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Codex D.
Luke 9:55-56
The Rebuke and Saving Mission
KJV Reading Defended
Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
Many modern critical editions omit the longer wording in Luke 9:55-56, while the KJV/TR includes the rebuke and saving-mission statement.
Disputed unit
Two independent additions: A, “and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of”, and B, “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them”.
Short omitted phraseComplex evidenceLatin supportSyriac supportNot majority Greek support
Evidence assessment
The two sentences travel separately. Both stand in Cyprius, Guelferbytanus, 021, 030, Families 1 and 13, 2, 700 and Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 1,300, with nine Old Latin witnesses, the Curetonian, Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac, the Wordsworth–White Vulgate, Armenian and Gothic. Codex Bezae and 669 carry the first sentence only, and P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus and a further group carry neither.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Byzantine subgroup, Old Latin and Syriac support
King James Bible reading
Luke 9:55-56 in the King James Bible
Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
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
- British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue
- 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
Byzantine subgroup, Old Latin and Syriac support
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
Addition A: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of”
The fuller KJV clause belongs to the larger Byzantine subgroup and substantially outnumbers the shorter subgroup in the published estimate.
Estimated Greek support: Approximately 1,300 Greek manuscripts, compared with about 430 in the shorter subgroup
This uses the two explicit subgroup estimates printed in the governing Luke apparatus and keeps the two additions separate.
Addition B: “The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them”
The fuller KJV clause belongs to the larger Byzantine subgroup and substantially outnumbers the shorter subgroup in the published estimate.
Estimated Greek support: Approximately 1,300 Greek manuscripts, compared with about 430 in the shorter subgroup
This uses the two explicit subgroup estimates printed in the governing Luke apparatus and keeps the two additions separate.
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
9 named Greek witnesses at addition A and 7 at addition B, plus Families 1 and 13 and Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 1,300
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
23 named Greek witnesses plus Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 430
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
- P75
- Codex Sinaiticus (01)
- Codex Vaticanus (03)
- Codex Washingtonianus (032)
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
Represented
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
- 9 named Greek witnesses at addition A and 7 at addition B, plus Families 1 and 13 and Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 1,300
- Greek competing evidence in cited scope
- 23 named Greek witnesses plus Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 430
- Evidence classification
- Byzantine subgroup, Old Latin and Syriac support
Addition A — “and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of”
KJV/TR unit: καὶ εἶπεν· οὐκ οἴδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς
Greek manuscripts
Supports the KJV/TR form05 017 021 024 030 669 2 579 700
Grouped evidence: Family 1 · Family 13 · Maj-part1300
Old Latin
Supports the KJV/TR formd (VL5) a (VL3) aur (VL15) b (VL4) c (VL6) e (VL2) f (VL10) q (VL13) r1 (VL14)
Syriac and other versions
Supports the KJV/TR formCuretonian Peshitta Harklean Palestinian-Syriac Armenian Gothic Bohairic-part Diatessaron-Arabic vgWW
Greek manuscripts
Competing readingP45 P75 01 02 03 04 019 032 037 040 044 047 0211 28 33 157 565 892 1071 1241 1342 1424 2786
Grouped evidence: Maj-part430
Old Latin, Syriac and Coptic
Competing readingg1 (VL7) l (VL11) Sinaitic Sahidic vgSt Ethiopic-manuscripts Codex-Fuldensis
Assignment open in the printed source
Non-directional evidence1675
Scrambled local text
Non-directional evidence579
Omits 56b–57a.
Addition B — “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them”
KJV/TR unit: ὁ γὰρ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων ἀπολέσαι ἀλλὰ σῶσαι
Greek manuscripts
Supports the KJV/TR form017 021 024 030 2 579 700
Grouped evidence: Family 1 · Family 13 · Maj-part1300
Old Latin
Supports the KJV/TR forma (VL3) aur (VL15) b (VL4) c (VL6) e (VL2) f (VL10) q (VL13) r1 (VL14)
Syriac and other versions
Supports the KJV/TR formCuretonian Peshitta Harklean Palestinian-Syriac Armenian Gothic Diatessaron-Arabic
Coptic and Vulgate
Supports the KJV/TR formBohairic-manuscripts vgWW
Greek manuscripts
Competing readingP45 P75 01 02 03 04 05 019 032 037 040 044 047 0211 28 33 157 565 669 892 1071 1241 1342 1424 1675 2786
Grouped evidence: Maj-part430
Old Latin, Syriac and Coptic
Competing readingd (VL5) g1 (VL7) l (VL11) Sinaitic Sahidic vgSt Ethiopic-manuscripts Codex-Fuldensis
Church Fathers and literary witnesses
Precisely located citations and additional names reported by the controlling apparatus are kept separate. An apparatus-level attribution is not presented as an independently verified exact quotation.
John Chrysostom
AD 367–400Homilies on Matthew 29 and 56; Homilies on John 51; Homilies on Romans 22; Homilies on 1 Corinthians 33
Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation
Close quotation in Homilies on Matthew 29 and 56; Homilies on John 51; Homilies on Romans 22; Homilies on 1 Corinthians 33.
Locator: Five discussions of addition A, listed at Willker Luke pp. 255–256
Open sourceRoster distinctions
- Codex Bezae carries addition A only.
- The Wordsworth–White Vulgate carries both additions and the Stuttgart Vulgate neither.
Evidence notes
Important distinctions in the evidence.
- Codex Bezae carries addition A only.
- The Wordsworth–White Vulgate carries both additions and the Stuttgart Vulgate neither.
Evidence assessment
Why the KJV reading is retained
The two sentences travel separately. Both stand in Cyprius, Guelferbytanus, 021, 030, Families 1 and 13, 2, 700 and Willker's printed Byzantine subgroup of about 1,300, with nine Old Latin witnesses, the Curetonian, Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac, the Wordsworth–White Vulgate, Armenian and Gothic. Codex Bezae and 669 carry the first sentence only, and P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus and a further group carry neither.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Byzantine subgroup, Old Latin and Syriac support
Evidence represented on this page
Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.
GreekRepresented
LatinRepresented
Other versionsRepresented
FathersRepresented
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 9:55–56, PDF pp. 255–256.
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.