Revelation 16:5
KJV Reading Defended
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
The KJV preserves Revelation’s characteristic threefold divine title: the One who is, who was, and who is to come. That formula is securely established at Revelation 1:4, 1:8, and 4:8. Related future-tense wording is also preserved in the Ethiopic tradition and in Beatus’s Latin commentary, showing that the future element was not unknown outside the later printed Greek text. Beza introduced the Greek form into his 1582 edition, and it became the received reading behind the KJV.
Disputed unit
The complete title at word addresses 18-32, not separate isolated votes for ‘Lord’ and ‘shall be.’
Evidence assessment
ECM treats the title as one complex unit. None of its Greek manuscript entries reads either κύριε or ἐσόμενος. The 91 displayed Greek states, representing 90 physical artifacts, preserve several forms centered on ὅσιος.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Historical printed-text and manuscript-report evidence rather than extant Greek manuscript support
King James Bible reading
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Evidence sources
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
The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
Unit 1 — “O Lord”
Eighth century — Beatus of Liébana supplies related Latin commentary evidence; AD 1592 — the Clementine Vulgate contains the title.
Earliest surviving Greek support: No surviving Greek manuscript is presently identified for the added title.
Unit 2 — “and shalt be”
Eighth century — Beatus of Liébana, related Latin future-tense form. Exact printed Greek form: AD 1582 — Beza’s third edition.
Earliest surviving Greek support: No surviving Greek manuscript is presently identified; the earliest exact Greek evidence is Beza’s printed text of AD 1582.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Source scope and denominator
The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.
Greek support in the cited corpus
0 Greek manuscript entries for the exact KJV future form
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
91 Greek states / 90 physical artifacts across the ὅσιος and related forms
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
No entry listed
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
Represented
Printed editions
Represented
Complete source-scoped roster
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
The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.
KJV/TR unit: κύριε εἶ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος
No Greek manuscript entry.
ECM question-mark row; no Greek witness listed.
01 025 051 35 201 254 325 456 469 632 1637 1732 1872 1888 2056 2067 2073 2074 2076C 2077 2080 2081 2256 2286 2595 2672 2681 2723 2847r 2886 2917
69 1852 2200
02 04 250 367 498 620 808 1611 1854 2076* 2138 2845 2846 2921
046 61 82 91 93 177 452 506 522 1424 1719 1734 1780 1795 1849 2048 2070
911 2026 2028 2057 2436? 2582
792 1006 1773 1828 2019 2037 2042r 2053 2350 2429 2432r 2814
P47 2329
P47 is extant here and belongs in this row.
141
2344 2919r
104
2071
2495
ECM row lf.
P43 0163 218 2050 2351 2377 2924
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.
Commentary on the Apocalypse, lemma/comment on Revelation 16:5
Latin qui fuisti et futurus es (“who were and will be”)
Locator: Palmer
Open sourceRoster distinctions
Evidence notes
Evidence assessment
ECM treats the title as one complex unit. None of its Greek manuscript entries reads either κύριε or ἐσόμενος. The 91 displayed Greek states, representing 90 physical artifacts, preserve several forms centered on ὅσιος.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Historical printed-text and manuscript-report evidence rather than extant Greek manuscript support
Evidence represented on this page
Separate evidence category
Printed editions are presented apart from handwritten manuscripts and ancient versions. Edition-group summaries appear first; named supporting and competing editions then follow chronologically.
Sources for the dates and readings in this section
Catalogued records
5
Named / aggregate
4 / 1
Date span
AD 1516–1657
Tradition conclusions appear first. Named manuscripts and other identifiable witnesses follow from oldest to newest with their dates and passage-specific readings.
| Witness | Date range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Earlier Textus Receptus editions Textual unitκαὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος (“and the one who shall be”) versus forms of ὁ ὅσιος (“the Holy One”) Aggregate / traditionEdition groupCompeting witness | AD 1516–1551 | Print καὶ ὁ ὅσιος rather than Beza's later future-tense form. |
Beza's third Greek edition Textual unitκαὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος (“and the one who shall be”) Named witnessPrinted edition | AD 1582 | Prints καὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος, the exact future-tense Greek form represented by the KJV. |
Clementine Vulgate Textual unitκύριε (“O Lord”), which is absent from all Greek manuscripts in Palmer's apparatus. Named witnessPrinted edition | AD 1592 | The 1592 printed Vulgate includes “Lord.” |
Ethiopic text in Walton's London Polyglot Textual unitκύριε (“O Lord”), which is absent from all Greek manuscripts in Palmer's apparatus. Named witnessPrinted edition | AD 1657 | Walton's 1657 printed Ethiopic text includes “Lord”; it is not an ancient Ethiopic manuscript. |
Ethiopic text in Walton's London Polyglot Textual unitκαὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος (“and the one who shall be”) versus forms of ὁ ὅσιος (“the Holy One”). Named witnessPrinted edition | AD 1657 | Has a future-tense form (“who are and will be”); it is related to the KJV future, but not identical to the full TR wording. |
References
Palmer, David Robert. The Revelation of John: The Ancient Greek Text, Alternating Verse by Verse with a New English Translation from the Greek. 2026 ed.
Hoskier, Herman C. Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse: Collations of All Existing Available Greek Documents with the Standard Text of Stephen’s Third Edition, Together with the Testimony of Versions, Commentaries and Fathers. 2 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch, 1929.
Krans, Jan. Beyond What Is Written: Erasmus and Beza as Conjectural Critics of the New Testament. New Testament Tools, Studies and Documents 35. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Revelation. Revelation 16:5.
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata