Luke 23:38
 
Luke 23:38
(KJV) And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
(1611 KJV) And a superscription also was written ouer him in letters of Greeke, and Latin, & Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE IEWES.
(1526 Tyndale) And his superscripcio was writte over him in greke in latine and Ebreu: This is the kynge of the Iewes.
(1382 Wycliffe) And the superscripcioun was writun ouer hym with Greke lettris, and of Latyn, and of Ebreu, This is the kyng of Jewis.
 
Counterfeit Versions
(CSB) An inscription was above him: This Is the King of the Jews.
(NIV) There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
(NASV) Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
(THE MESSAGE) Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.
(NLT) A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
(ESV) There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
(CEV) Above him was a sign that said, "This is the King of the Jews."
(1901 ASV) And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
(HCSB) An inscription was above Him: THIS IS THE KING OF THE Jews
(NCV) At the top of the cross these words were written: this is the king of the jews.
(RSV) There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."
(NAB-Roman Catholic) Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews."
(NWT-Jehovah‘s Witnesses) There was also an inscription over him: “This is the king of the Jews.”
 
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
hn de kai epigrajh gegrammenh ep autw grammasin ellhnikoiV kai rwmaikoiV kai ebraikoiV outoV estin o basileuV twn ioudaiwn
 
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
hn de kai epigrajh ep autw o basileuV twn ioudaiwn outoV
 
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Omits “written”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
L 019 - Eighth century
P 75 - Third century
 
Omits “in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:
P 75 - Third century
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (original)
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
L 019 - Eighth century
 
Manuscripts which Agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Contains “written”
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
Gamma 036 - Ninth or Tenth century
Delta 037 - Ninth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
1 (Minuscule) - Seventh century
13 (Minuscule) - Eighth century
 
Contains “in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew”
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (corrected)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century (corrected)
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
Q 026 - Fifth century
R 027 - Sixth century
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
Gamma 036 - Ninth or Tenth century
Delta 037 - Ninth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
1 (Minuscule) - Seventh century
13 (Minuscule) - Eighth century
700 - (Minuscule) Eleventh century
 
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Omits “written” before “over him”
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Von Soden, Freiherr - 1902
 
Contains “in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew”
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Lachmann, Karl - 1842 (in brackets or margin)
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871 (in brackets or margin)
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
 
Affected Teaching
Whenever a person was crucified for crimes against Rome, their crimes were written on a board and placed on the cross. Since the Lord Jesus Christ was not guilty of any crimes against anyone or Rome, they placed above Him a written message which stated that He was King of the Jews. No doubt an authority higher that Pontius Pilate allowed these words to be placed on the cross. For at that time there was no king but Caesar. Now the Bible points out specifically that the inscription was written in three different languages. Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, Greek was used because it was a local language which was also used since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great and would have been easily read by the Hellenistic Jews, and Hebrew which would have been the language of Israel at that time. It was written in these three contemporary languages so there would be no doubt as to what was written. It was basically a derisive message probably aimed at the Jews who wanted Him dead. There is no reason given why these words were omitted in the modern versions. They simply denote the people who were in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover when Christ was crucified. Once again the King James Bible gives us the accurate information concerning the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Back