Acts 20:28, the church of God, purchased with whose blood?
Acts 20:28 is transmitted as church of God and church of the Lord. The one-letter difference between sacred abbreviations shapes how the phrase with his own blood is read.
The APB text at this verse
The manuscripts, editions, and versions
The committee record at this verse
The APB's translation committee works blind: it is never told it is translating the Bible, never given a book name or a verse number, and it never sees the witnesses above. Since revision 3.5, the places where the manuscripts disagree are decided before translation by three readers, Grok 4.3, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Fable 5.1, who see the readings and the witnesses by age and class but never a reference or a manuscript name. Whatever was done at this verse was done on the language and the evidence alone, and the record is public.
“The base text reads (nothing). The copies also carry οὖν [greek majuscule; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default chosen because the external evidence favors the omission and the internal evidence is consistent with it, though the number of witnesses is modest.”
“The base text reads θεοῦ,. The copies also carry κυρίου [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition], κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ, [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The evidence favors θεοῦ, but the number of early witnesses is modest so another reader would be welcome.”
“The base text reads προσέχετε. The copies also carry οὖν [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen because the external evidence is early and independent while the internal evidence favors the harder reading.”
“The base text reads θεοῦ. The copies also carry κυρίου [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition], κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The evidence favors θεοῦ but the early support is limited to two witnesses, so another reader would be helpful.”
“The base text reads αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου. The copies also carry ἰδίου αἵματος [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The default is retained because its substantially earlier external support and the plausible smoothing that produces ἰδίου αἵματος agree.”
The APB 3.5 decision first retained θεοῦ, and the committee’s printed text therefore reads assembly of God. Its note states: “The evidence favors θεοῦ but the early support is limited to two witnesses, so another reader would be helpful.” The three readers worked blind, seeing readings and witness classes and dates, without a reference, book name, or manuscript name. The pericope audit verdict is clean.
The argument for each reading
If “of God”
Reading A is τοῦ θεοῦ, of God. NA28 (2012) reads θεοῦ, and the apparatus line places WH with NA28 against κυρίου and κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ. The APB printed text likewise has “assembly of God that he obtained with his own blood.” The committee’s 3.5 decision retained θεοῦ, saying the evidence favors it while also recording limited early support. In the stated difference, the sacred abbreviations ΘΥ and ΚΥ differ by one letter. For this reading, the phrase identifies the assembly as God’s, and his own blood is the wording that brings the theological question into view.
If “of the Lord”
Reading B is τοῦ κυρίου, of the Lord. Tregelles (1857-1879) reads κυρίου, and the apparatus records Treg against θεοῦ; it also records κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ in RP. The committee’s textual decision describes κυρίου as an early greek manuscript tradition and the combined wording as later majority tradition. This evidence preserves a distinct transmission in which the assembly is called the Lord’s rather than God’s. The same larger wording still concerns the assembly, shepherding, and his own blood. The issue for this reading is the designation attached to the assembly and how that designation frames the phrase about blood.
The committee itself describes the early support for θεοῦ as limited, and its invitation for another reader leaves the competing evidence open for review. The variant changes whether the assembly is designated God’s or the Lord’s, and it affects how the phrase about his own blood is framed. It does not alter the surrounding APB wording about attention, the flock, overseers, shepherding, or purchase with his own blood. No doctrine is settled by this single variant; most doctrines rest on many passages.
Common questions
Does the APB print church of God or church of the Lord in Acts 20:28?
The committee’s printed text has assembly of God. Its 3.5 decision retained θεοῦ while noting that the early support is limited to two witnesses.
What is the alternative reading in Acts 20:28?
Tregelles reads κυρίου, of the Lord. The apparatus also records κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ in RP.
Why does the difference matter?
The words identify the assembly as God’s or the Lord’s. Because the clause continues with his own blood, the designation affects the theological question raised by that phrase.
Related entries
Witness readings for critical editions are quoted from the SBLGNT apparatus (CC BY 4.0); Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible). Readings of ancient manuscripts and versions are cited as published scholarly fact with their sources linked above. The page does not declare which reading is original.
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.