Romans 14:10
KJV Reading Defended
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
“The judgment seat of Christ” is the Greek majority reading and is supported by important manuscripts, Syriac and Gothic evidence, and early Christian use of the same expression. It also agrees exactly with Paul’s undisputed wording in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Disputed unit
τοῦ Χριστοῦ against τοῦ θεοῦ at the judgment seat; the dative τῷ θεῷ is a separate related form.
Evidence assessment
In the official selected Romans apparatus, ‘of Christ’ has 104 reading states and ‘of God’ has 15. The related dative in 0150K is separate, and P46 is noncollatable at the noun.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Broad Greek support in the official selected Romans apparatus
King James Bible reading
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
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 official Romans ECM-preparation apparatus: 152 selected witnesses. Counts are reading states and preserve hands, corrections, lectionary occurrences and deficiencies.
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
Earliest related patristic and secure Greek evidence catalogued here
Early–mid second century — Polycarp has the related phrase "judgment seat of Christ," although the exact Pauline source is uncertain.
Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Uncial 048 is the earliest secure exact main-text Χριστοῦ witness in the displayed synopsis. The Sinaiticus and Ephraemi support belongs to correcting hands whose dates are not independently established.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
“The judgment seat of Christ”
The KJV/TR Christ reading is the numerical majority in the selected Romans apparatus and the dominant Greek reading.
Estimated Greek support: 104 Christ states against 15 God states in the selected apparatus; approximately 500 to 600 Greek manuscripts in the wider tradition
The exact selected-apparatus count is stated first. The wider estimate reflects the several-hundred-manuscript Pauline tradition and is intentionally presented as a range rather than as a fresh universal collation.
Source scope and denominator
The official Romans ECM-preparation apparatus: 152 selected witnesses. Counts are reading states and preserve hands, corrections, lectionary occurrences and deficiencies.
Greek support in the cited corpus
104 Christ states
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
15 God states; 1 related dative
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
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 official Romans ECM-preparation apparatus: 152 selected witnesses. Counts are reading states and preserve hands, corrections, lectionary occurrences and deficiencies.
KJV/TR unit: τοῦ Χριστοῦ
01C2 04C2V 020 025 044 048V 049 1 5 6 33 35 38 43 61 69 81 88 103K 104 218 256 263 326 330 365 398 400 424K 436 441K 451 455K 459 467 606K 608K 621K 623K 629 886K 915 1069 1108 1115 1175 1241 1243 1319 1359 1505 1524K 1573 1611 1617 1718 1751 1798K 1834 1837 1838 1875 1877 1881 1886 1893 1909K 1912 1942K 1961K 1962K 1963K 1973K 1985K 1991K 1995K 1996K 1999K 2012K 2102K 2105K 2127 2197K 2344 2352 2400 2495 2516 2523 2544 2576K 2659K 2685 2853 2936K L156 L169 L587 L809 L1159 L1188 L1440 L2010 L2058
01* 02 03 04* 06 012 0209V 630 1506K 1739 1852 1908K-C 2110K 2200 L1178
0150K
P46
VL54 VL58 VL64 VL79
VL135 VL51 VL61 VL67 VL75 VL76 VL77 VL78 VL88 VL89
VL86
dei
Grouped evidence: Stuttgart Vulgate electronic text
The Stuttgart Vulgate reads dei.
Grouped evidence: Ambrosiaster editorial lemma
Ambrosiaster’s editorial text reads christi, with a dei variant: a mixed edition.
dei
Grouped evidence: Pelagius editorial lemma
Pelagius’s editorial lemma reads dei.
Grouped evidence: The official Romans apparatus’s whole-verse deficient list for this verse
Kept separate from P46, whose surrounding verse survives but whose key noun is lacunose.
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.
Letter to the Philippians 6.2
says “we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ”
Locator: Polycarp, Philippians
Open sourceHomily 25 on Romans
Direct quotation in Homily 25 on Romans.
Locator: Romans 14:10
Open sourceRoster distinctions
Evidence notes
Evidence assessment
In the official selected Romans apparatus, ‘of Christ’ has 104 reading states and ‘of God’ has 15. The related dative in 0150K is separate, and P46 is noncollatable at the noun.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Broad Greek support in the official selected Romans apparatus
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
2
Named / aggregate
1 / 1
Date span
AD 1592–2007
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 |
|---|---|---|
Stuttgart Vulgate Textual unitτοῦ Χριστοῦ (“of Christ”) versus τοῦ θεοῦ (“of God”). Aggregate / traditionCompeting witness | AD 1969–2007 | The modern critical Vulgate text supports “God.” |
Clementine Vulgate Textual unitτοῦ Χριστοῦ (“of Christ”) versus τοῦ θεοῦ (“of God”). Named witnessPrinted edition | AD 1592 | The 1592 printed Vulgate supports “Christ”; it is not a manuscript. |
References
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. The Greek New Testament. 5th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2014.
Polycarp of Smyrna. Epistle to the Philippians, §6.2. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1.
IGNTP/ITSEE Romans ECM-preparation apparatus, version 1.1
IGNTP/ITSEE Romans ECM-preparation apparatus, positive apparatus
IGNTP/ITSEE Romans ECM-preparation apparatus, negative apparatus
IGNTP/ITSEE Romans direct-transcription synopsis
Official COMPAUL Latin transcriptions
Official COMPAUL Latin transcriptions, Romans files. Individual Romans files follow .../transcriptions/06_VL61.xml.
IGNTP/ITSEE Pauline Epistles electronic editions
INTF, Editio Critica Maior project status (Pauline letters in preparation with ITSEE/IGNTP)
Chrysostom, Homily 25 on Romans