Ephesians 1:1 — a letter addressed to… whom?
The supplied evidence preserves both Reading A, an open address, and Reading B, ἐν Ἐφέσῳ; it does not settle whether Ephesians was originally addressed to the church in Ephesus. The destination is absent in three early witnesses but printed in the editions listed here.
What the APB prints.
Every witness, on the record.
What a blind committee did here.
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. Whatever it did at this verse, it did on the language alone — and its record is public.
The blind committee record has no rationale note matching this crux. The APB text at Ephesians 1:1 prints an address to the holy ones who are in Ephesus. For the pericope, the audit verdict is "clean". The record supplies no further explanation of that wording at this verse.
The case for each reading.
If a circular letter
Reading A gives the address as τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν, without a city. P46 ℵ* B* are described in the packet as the three earliest witnesses, and each lacks the destination. The same witness note says that correctors added in Ephesus. This supports the possibility named in the stakes label: an address line left open could suit a circular letter, with a destination supplied for a particular city. The apparatus also records the omission as an alternative to ἐν Ἐφέσῳ. The evidence presented here identifies the absence and later correction, but does not explain why the city name is absent in these witnesses.
If addressed to Ephesus
Reading B supplies a specific destination, ἐν Ἐφέσῳ. NA28 prints those words, and its witness note says that all four editions print them, though critical editions print them with brackets. The raw apparatus likewise places ἐν Ἐφέσῳ with WH, Treg, NA28, and RP, over against omission in WHapp. On this reading, Ephesians 1:1 directly addresses holy ones in Ephesus. The packet also reports that correctors added the words in the earliest-witness group. It does not provide an account of whether that addition reflects transmission, editorial judgment, or an address supplied for use in a city.
What remains uncertain is why the city name is absent in P46 ℵ* B* while it is printed in NA28 and the listed apparatus editions. The variation changes whether the address appears open or explicitly located in Ephesus. The packet supplies no doctrinal conclusion from this difference; doctrines rest on more than one passage.
Asked plainly.
Was Ephesians originally addressed to Ephesus?
The supplied evidence contains both possibilities: P46 ℵ* B* have no city in the address, while NA28 prints ἐν Ἐφέσῳ. The packet does not settle the question.
Which witnesses leave the destination blank in Ephesians 1:1?
P46 ℵ* B* read τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν with no city. Their witness note describes them as the three earliest witnesses.
Does the APB print Ephesus in Ephesians 1:1?
Yes. The APB prints an address to the holy ones who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus.
More places where the manuscripts argue.
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. Nothing on this page declares a winner — the evidence is the point.
Weigh it yourself.
The registry doesn't tell you which reading is true. It puts every witness on one page, shows what a blind committee did with the same language, and leaves the verdict where it belongs — with the reader.