Luke 23:34
(KJV)
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
(1611 KJV)
Then said Iesus, Father, forgiue them, for they know not what they doe:
And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
(1587 Geneva Bible)
Then sayd Iesus, Father, forgiue them: for
they know not what they doe. And they parted his raiment, and
cast lottes.
(1526 Tyndale)
Then sayde Iesus: father forgeve them for they
woot not what they do. And they parted his rayment and cast
loottes.
Counterfeit Versions
(CEV) Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They
don’t know what they’re doing.”] While the crowd stood there watching
Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes.
(HCSB) [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,
because they do not know what they are doing.”] And they divided His clothes and
cast lots.
(New American Bible-Revised Edition-Roman Catholic
[Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”] They
divided his garments by casting lots.
(NET) [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they
don’t know what they are doing.”] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
(NIV) [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they
don’t know what they are doing.”] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
(NRSV) [[Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for
they do not know what they are doing.”]] And they cast lots to divide his
clothing.
(VOICE) [Father, forgive them, for they don’t know
what they’re doing.] Meanwhile they were drawing lots to see who would win
Jesus’ clothing.
Some of the modern versions included this verse in the
text of their bibles but with that, they included footnotes which cast doubt
upon the verse thus casting doubt upon the Word of God. I have included below
the versions which have done this and their footnotes. If you notice, they never
tell you what manuscripts omit them and why.
Counterfeit Versions Footnotes
(1881 RV) Some ancient authorities omit And Jesus
said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do
(CEV) Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They
don’t know what they’re doing.”: These words are not in some manuscripts.
(ERV) Jesus said, “Father, … doing” Some early copies
of Luke do not have these words.
(ESV) Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus…
what they do
(GNB) Some manuscripts do not have Jesus said,
“Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing.”
(HCSB) Other mss omit bracketed text
(NABRE) [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they
know not what they do.”]: this portion of Luke 23:34 does not occur in the
oldest papyrus manuscript of Luke and in other early Greek manuscripts and
ancient versions of wide geographical distribution.
(NASV) Some early mss do not contain But Jesus was
saying...doing
(NCV) Some Greek copies do not have this first part of
verse 34.
(NIV) Some early manuscripts do not have this
sentence.
(NKJV) NU-Text brackets the first sentence as a later
addition.
(NLT) This sentence is not included in many ancient
manuscripts.
(NRSV) Other ancient authorities lack the sentence
Then Jesus . . . what they are doing
(RSV) Other ancient authorities omit the sentence And
Jesus . . . what they do
(VOICE) The earliest manuscripts omit this portion.
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
ο δε ιησους ελεγεν
πατερ αφες αυτοις ου γαρ οιδασιν τι ποιουσιν διαμεριζομενοι δε
τα ιματια αυτου εβαλον κληρον
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
[ο δε ιησους ελεγεν πατερ αφες αυτοις ου γαρ οιδασιν
τι ποιουσιν] διαμεριζομενοι δε τα ιματια αυτου εβαλον κληρον
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
P 75 - Third Century
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus -
Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
(corrected)
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
(original)
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus
Receptus for this verse
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus -
Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
(original)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
(corrected)
K 017 - Ninth century
L 019 - Seventh century
Q 026 - Fifth century
Gamma 036 - Ninth or Tenth century
Delta 037 - Ninth century
1 (Minuscule) - Seventh century
13 (Minuscule) - Eighth century
Published Critical Greek Texts with
Corruptions
Omit “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do.” at beginning of verse
Lachmann, Karl - 1842 (In brackets or margin)
Westcott and Hort - 1881
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
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Affected Teaching
Luke 23:34 contains probably the greatest example of
forgiveness the human race has ever known. That is why Satan wanted it thrown
out of the Bible. These footnotes not only cast doubt on the Scriptures but also
the content. Satan’s normal mode of operation is revenge but the Lord’s is
forgiveness. As we can see the manuscripts which included this entire verse are
12 and the ones that did not are only 6, and yet the modern translators go with
the lesser amount. It is almost like they too are in agreement that this verse
on forgiveness should be removed. Then again what can you expect from Satan’s
workers?
One of the highest forms of love is forgiving someone
who has hurt you, especially when they do it intentionally. To say to one who
hurts you that you forgive them usually shocks them into apologizing to you for
their misdeeds. Unconditional forgiveness is one of the highest characteristics
of true Christianity which can be manifested by a believer. It is with this
trait that you may win people to Christ. We must be realistic, many times we
hear people telling us to forgive and forget, only God is capable of forgetting.
We will remember what people have done to us because Satan will not let us
forget, so we must learn how to deal with those memories, so we don’t fall into
Satan’s snare of dredging up past hurts and conflicts. Here is a gift to you
preachers and teachers out there. Six points of forgiveness. When the memory
arises:
1) Determine at that moment you will not raise that
issue with the person who hurt you.
2) Ask the Lord immediately for strength to squelch
the desire for revenge.
3) Keep in mind those whom you have hurt in the past
and how they had forgiven you of your sins against them.
4) As soon as you have forgiven that person, seek
immediately to rebuild the relationship.
5) Pray for the one who hurt you because it is hard to
seek revenge when you are praying for someone.
6) Remember the Cross, God’s ultimate forgiveness.
If you keep these six principles of forgiveness in
mind, then you will gain victory over a revengeful mindset and you will maintain
stable relationships with all believers. True forgiveness is possible.