The Crux Registry
65Readings
176Witnesses
0Verdicts
A textual crux is a place where the Bible's oldest manuscripts disagree, over a letter, a word, or a whole passage. Each page here lays one out in full: what every manuscript actually says, side by side, with each claim linked to its published source. Because the Anselm Project Bible was translated by a committee that was never told it was reading Scripture, and its disputed readings were decided by three readers who saw the evidence without the references, each page also shows what that committee did at the same place. No verdict is argued.
17 readings
Hebrew Readings
Places where the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is genuinely uncertain, a single letter's difference, a scribe's marginal correction, or an older scroll that reads differently.
Psalm 22:16
Pierced, or like a lion
Psalm 22:16 has כארו, they dug or pierced, in early Hebrew and versions, while the Masoretic Text has כארי, like a lion.
Genesis 4:8
Cain's missing words
At Genesis 4:8, the Masoretic Text leaves Cain’s speech unstated, while the Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, and Vulgate supply an invitation to the field.
Deuteronomy 32:8
Sons of God, or of Israel
At Deuteronomy 32:8, the Masoretic Text has בני ישראל, while 4QDeutʲ and the Septuagint support a reading involving divine beings.
Isaiah 7:14
Virgin, or young woman
The MT and 1QIsaᵃ read העלמה, while the LXX renders the phrase with ἡ παρθένος: young woman or virgin.
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see: light?
Isaiah 53:11 has a reading with light in three Qumran scrolls and the Greek, while the Masoretic Text leaves the servant’s seeing unspecified.
Psalm 145:13
The missing nun line
Psalm 145 moves from mem to samekh in the Masoretic Text, while 11QPsᵃ and the Septuagint preserve a nun line about God’s faithfulness.
2 Samuel 21:19
Who killed Goliath?
In 2 Samuel 21:19 Elhanan strikes Goliath; in 1 Chronicles 20:5 he strikes Lahmi, identified as Goliath’s brother.
Genesis 47:31
Bed, or staff
The same Hebrew consonants in Genesis 47:31 can be read as “bed” or “staff,” with the MT supporting bed and the LXX supporting staff.
Psalm 40:6
Ears dug, or body prepared
Psalm 40:6 presents opened ears in Hebrew, while the Septuagint gives a prepared body, the wording used in Hebrews 10:5.
Job 13:15
Hope in him: or no hope
The Hebrew wording at Job 13:15 is written with a negative in the consonantal text, while the Masoretic margin directs a reading of hope in him.
Psalm 100:3
Not we: or his we are
Psalm 100:3 has a written reading, “and not we ourselves,” and a marginal reading, “and his we are”; the APB printed the former.
Judges 18:30
Moses, or Manasseh
A raised nun in Judges 18:30 leaves the genealogy reading Manasseh on the line, while the Vulgate names Moses.
Isaiah 21:8
A lion: or the watcher
A reordered set of Hebrew letters yields either a lion’s cry or the cry of the sentry standing watch in Isaiah 21:8.
Isaiah 14:12
Lucifer, or Day Star
Isaiah 14:12 pairs the Vulgate's lucifer with Hebrew and Greek expressions for the morning star; later capitalization creates the proper-name question.
Genesis 49:10
Until Shiloh comes
Genesis 49:10 presents a one-letter difference: the written text reads Shiloh as a name, while the margin reads “he to whom it belongs.”
Psalm 2:12
Kiss the Son
Psalm 2:12 has a Hebrew reading, kiss the son, and Greek and Latin readings centered on instruction or discipline, raising the question of how the consonants were understood.
Zechariah 12:10
Look on me, or on him
A one-letter Hebrew variation in Zechariah 12:10 yields either to me, whom they pierced, or to him, while the Greek translation preserves me with a different verb.
24 readings
Greek Readings
Places where the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament disagree over a word or a phrase, and the difference changes what the verse says.
Mark 1:1
Mark's opening line
Mark 1:1 has a short opening ending with Jesus Christ and longer forms adding Son of God; the APB printed the short form.
Mark 1:41
Angry, or compassionate
At Mark 1:41, ὀργισθεὶς presents Jesus as becoming angry, while σπλαγχνισθεὶς presents him as moved with compassion.
John 1:18
Only Son, or only God
At John 1:18, Papyri 66 & 75 and NA28 read μονογενὴς θεὸς, while RP and the Byzantine majority read ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός.
1 Timothy 3:16
God, or he who
At 1 Timothy 3:16, NA28 and Codex Alexandrinus support “who,” while the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform supports “God.”
Jude 1:5
Jesus, or the Lord
At Jude 1:5, Ἰησοῦς names Jesus in one textual form, while other forms read κύριος or ὁ κύριος for the Exodus deliverer.
Romans 5:1
One vowel in Romans
Romans 5:1 has an indicative reading, ἔχομεν, and a subjunctive reading, ἔχωμεν; the earliest named copies here support the exhortation.
Hebrews 2:9
Grace of God, or apart from God
At Hebrews 2:9, χωρὶς θεοῦ stands against χάριτι θεοῦ: a minority reading printed by the SBL Greek New Testament and the reading found in nearly every manuscript.
2 Peter 3:10
Burned up, or laid bare
At 2 Peter 3:10, one textform reads κατακαήσεται, while critical editions print εὑρεθήσεται or, in NA28, οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται.
Luke 2:14
The angels' sigma
Luke 2:14 has εὐδοκίας in critical editions and εὐδοκία in the Byzantine majority edition, yielding two different forms of the closing phrase.
John 1:34
Son, or Chosen One
At John 1:34, witnesses support either the Son or the Chosen One as the Baptist’s climactic title.
Matthew 24:36
Nor the Son
Some editions print Matthew 24:36 with “nor the Son”; the Byzantine majority edition and Tregelles omit the phrase.
Matthew 5:22
The softening word
A textual variant in Matthew 5:22 adds εἰκῆ, giving the familiar sense “without cause”; the alternate text leaves anger unqualified.
John 3:13
Who is in heaven
John 3:13 is transmitted either without the heavenly clause or with ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ after the Son of Man.
Acts 20:28
Church of God, or of the Lord
The apparatus at Acts 20:28 records θεοῦ, κυρίου, and a later combined form, while the APB printed text uses assembly of God.
Matthew 27:16
Jesus Barabbas
Some texts call the prisoner Jesus Barabbas in Matthew 27:16; others give only Barabbas, changing the wording of Pilate's contrast.
Mark 10:24
The camel's qualifier
Some witnesses leave Mark 10:24 unqualified; others add τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν, directing the difficulty toward those who trust in riches.
Luke 4:44
Judea, or Galilee
Some witnesses read Judea and others Galilee at Luke 4:44, where the surrounding narrative is set in Galilee.
Ephesians 1:1
In Ephesus: or blank
The earliest three witnesses omit the city in Ephesians 1:1, while NA28 prints ἐν Ἐφέσῳ and the address Ephesus.
1 Thessalonians 2:7
Gentle, or infants
The variant at 1 Thessalonians 2:7 turns on one nu: editions cited here print either ἤπιοι, gentle, or νήπιοι, infants.
1 Corinthians 13:3
Burned, or boast
At 1 Corinthians 13:3, Greek editions divide between a form meaning that I may be burned and one meaning that I may boast.
Revelation 1:5
Washed, or freed
At Revelation 1:5, critical editions listed here read λύσαντι, “freed,” while the Byzantine Textform reads λούσαντι, “washed.”
John 14:14
Ask me: or just ask
John 14:14 has με in Westcott-Hort, NA28, and RP, while Tregelles omits it; the wording changes whether “ask me” appears in the verse.
Revelation 5:9
Purchased us, or them
The song in Revelation 5:9 may say that the Lamb purchased “us,” or may name those purchased without identifying the singers.
Colossians 1:14
Through his blood
Colossians 1:14 appears with or without διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ: the collated editions support the shorter wording, while the Textus Receptus prints the added phrase.
14 verses
Verses Not in Every Bible
Whole verses that appear in some Bibles but not in others. If your Bible seems to skip a verse number, the reason is probably on this list.
Joshua 21:36
Joshua's missing verses
Some Masoretic manuscripts omit Joshua 21:36-37, but the Westminster Leningrad Codex includes the two Reubenite city-list verses.
1 John 5:7
The Comma Johanneum
Greek manuscript tradition lacks the heavenly witnesses, while the Latin tradition and the Textus Receptus preserve them, explaining the wording’s route into the King James Bible.
Luke 23:34
Father, forgive them
Luke 23:34 divides early witnesses: some preserve Jesus’ prayer for forgiveness, while others continue the crucifixion narrative without it.
Matthew 6:13
The Lord's Prayer doxology
Matthew 6:13 appears with either a plain ending or the familiar kingdom, power, and glory doxology; NA28 and RP print different endings.
Acts 8:36
The eunuch's confession
Acts 8:37 survives in the Textus Receptus and in familiar verse numbering, while the listed earliest manuscripts and versions run directly from Acts 8:36 to 8:38.
John 5:3
The angel at Bethesda
John 5:4 is absent from some modern editions because their text ends John 5:3 before the traditional account of an angel stirring the pool; other editions retain that account.
Matthew 18:10
Matthew's missing verse
Some editions print Matthew 18:11 and others place it outside the main text because the verse appears in the later manuscript tradition but is absent from the critical text’s sequence.
Mark 7:15
Ears to hear
Mark 7:16 appears in editions following Reading B, while editions following Reading A continue directly from Mark 7:15 to verse 17.
Mark 9:45
The worm verses
Mark 9:44 and 46 reflect a textual division: some editions print the undying-worm refrain only at verse 48, while others repeat it after each warning.
Luke 23:16
Luke's missing verse
Some editions print Luke 23:17 as the release-at-the-feast explanation; others move from Luke 23:16 directly to the crowd’s outcry.
Romans 16:24
The wandering benediction
Some editions omit Romans 16:24 because the closing blessing is transmitted either as a separate verse or as part of a differently arranged ending.
Matthew 21:44
The crushing stone
The disputed sentence appears in almost every manuscript and in the printed editions listed here, while Papyrus 104, Bezae, and Old Latin omit it.
Matthew 17:20
Prayer and fasting
Some editions end the disciples’ answer at the mustard-seed saying; others print Matthew 17:21 as a disputed sentence about prayer and fasting.
Luke 9:55
What spirit you are of
Luke 9:55 has a bare rebuke in reading A and a longer saying about the disciples’ spirit in reading B.
4 passages
Passages Not in Every Bible
Entire passages (up to twelve verses long) that some manuscripts include and others leave out.
Mark 16:8
Mark's longer ending
At Mark 16:8, ℵ B end with fear; RP prints 16:9-20, including appearances, signs, and ascension.
John 7:52
The wandering pericope
The woman caught in adultery appears in the Byzantine text but is absent from the earliest listed witnesses to John, leaving its place in John’s Gospel disputed.
Luke 22:43
The bloody sweat
Luke 22:43-44 is contested: NA28 and Tregelles print the angel and bloody-sweat scene, while Papyrus 75 and Vaticanus omit it.
Matthew 16:2
Signs of the times
Matthew 16:2-3 has a contested weather proverb: early witnesses omit it, while Tregelles, NA28, and the Byzantine text retain it.
6 numbers
Disputed Numbers
Numbers the manuscripts disagree about, from the number of the beast to the length of a king's reign.
1 Samuel 13:1
Saul's missing age
The Hebrew text reads Saul was a year old, while another approach treats the missing age as a lost number and some later Greek manuscripts supply thirty.
1 Samuel 17:4
Goliath: four cubits or six
At 1 Samuel 17:4, the witnesses divide between a four-cubit Goliath and a six-cubit Goliath.
2 Kings 8:26
Ahaziah: 22 or 42
2 Kings gives Ahaziah an accession age of twenty-two, while 2 Chronicles gives forty-two; the listed witnesses preserve evidence for both figures.
1 Samuel 6:19
Seventy men: and fifty thousand?
1 Samuel 6:19 is transmitted with either seventy deaths or seventy plus fifty thousand; the listed witnesses divide over the larger number.
Revelation 13:18
666, or 616
At Revelation 13:18, the supplied evidence preserves two numeral readings: 666 in NA28 and 616 in P115.
Luke 10:1
Seventy, or seventy-two
Some witnesses count seventy-two in Luke 10:1, while others count seventy; the disputed element is the word δύο.
Every page documents its witnesses from open data, the Westminster Leningrad Codex and the SBLGNT apparatus (CC BY 4.0), and links each manuscript claim to its published source. The committee records are quoted verbatim from the Anselm Project Bible's public audit trail, downloadable in full on Hugging Face.
The registry gives no verdict
The registry does not say which reading is original. Each page lists the witnesses, shows what the committee did with the same text, and leaves the judgment to the reader.