Why does the KJV and NIV differ in Luke 9:55-56?

Luke 9:55-56  But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village. (NIV)

Luke 9:55-56 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. (KJV)

Luke 9:55-56 But He turned and rebuked them, [a]and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 [b]For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. (NKJV)

• Luke 9:55 NU omits the rest of v. 55.
• Luke 9:56 NU omits For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

The Codex Bezae (D). In the restricted manuscripts area, stored away in a metal cabinet, Codex Bezae is the prized possession of the Cambridge University Library. It derives its name from the Protestant reformer, Theodore Beza, who after having it for more than twenty years, presented it in 1581 to the library at Cambridge University.

The manuscript contains (with gaps) the Four Gospels, Acts, and a fragment of 3 John in Latin. Its leaves are somewhat smaller than the manuscripts described so far, measuring ten by eight inches. In all, the codex presently consists of 406 leaves of thin vellum and is now bound in two volumes of convenient size.3

Codex Bezae is in many ways a different kind of manuscript. It is the earliest example of a bilingual manuscript; that is, it is written in two languages, with the Greek text on the left side of the page and the Latin text on the right. The lines, written one column to a page, are “sense lines.” This means that the lines vary in length and correspond to pauses required as the codex is being read. The Gospels appear in the so-called Western order: Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark.

Because of its distinctive readings, Codex Bezae has the dubious distinction of being the most curious of all the early manuscripts. Its additions and omissions at times put it in a class by itself. Beza himself looked with suspicion upon his manuscript, as did many of his contemporaries. At the time the King James Version was made, Codex Bezae was the only important uncial available, but it was little used because of the speculation that surrounded it.

Due to its unique character, many studies have been done on Codex Bezae. Again and again it departs from the established text.

Luke 9:55 adds the words, “And he said, ‘You do not know of what spirit you are.’ ” Luke 23:53, speaking of Jesus’ burial by Joseph of Arimathea, says that “he placed over the tomb a stone which twenty men could scarcely roll.” Acts 12:10 relates that when Peter and the angel came out of prison, “they descended the seven steps.” Acts 19:9, as it tells of Paul’s discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, adds the time of day, “from the fifth to the tenth hour.” Acts 28:31 concludes the Book of Acts with the additional statement “that this is Jesus the Son of God, through whom the whole world will be judged.”

These are only a few examples. Nevertheless, they illustrate that Codex Bezae often has differences from the usual text that involve not just verbal changes but additional clauses and even sentences. What accounts for such differences? The many proposed solutions have not resulted in a satisfactory answer.

Codex Bezae and a few other textual witnesses are the chief representatives of a type of text that is commonly called “Western.” This is an early form of the text, examples of which have been found in various geographical areas.

Generally speaking, the Western text is characterized by fondness of paraphrase, textual expansions, and striking omissions.

To the student who meets these textual variations for the first time, this may be confusing. If, however, such differences present a problem, we must recognize that these same differences help in providing an answer to the problem.

For instance, in Luke’s account of the Lord’s Prayer, in the middle of the verse (11:2), Codex Bezae adds, “Do not babble on as the others; for some think that they will be heard for their many words. But when you pray …” Although this is almost a verbatim quote from Matthew 6:7, Bezae is the only manuscript that has it in Luke. Similarly, Bezae’s reference to the stone “which twenty men could scarcely roll” in Luke 23:53 has no other textual support, except from one Old Latin manuscript and the Sahidic (an Egyptian) Version.

So as one examines a large number of Western variants, one comes to suspect that they are secondary and do not belong to the text as originally written. On the other hand, this does not mean Bezae should be simply cast aside.

It is a very valuable manuscript, but it must be used wisely. It dates back to about the fifth century; and though it includes such variants as those already mentioned, in large measure it preserves the Gospels and Acts as they always have been known. In other words, we should not forget that Bezae has far more agreements with the Vatican and Sinaitic Manuscripts than disagreements. These numerous agreements, especially when confirmed by other types of witnesses, make the text as certain as it can be.


Lightfoot, N. R. (2003). How We Got the Bible (Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, pp. 57–59). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.