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.

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