John 14:14, “if you ask me anything in my name”?
John 14:14 is printed with “ask me,” while the omission reading gives “if you ask anything.” The two-letter variant affects whether this verse explicitly addresses prayer to Jesus.
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 με. The copies also carry the omission [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; early greek manuscript tradition; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen. Evidence is not overwhelming.”
“The base text reads ἐγὼ. The copies also carry the omission [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; early greek manuscript tradition]; the committee kept the base text. evidence favors ἐγὼ but not overwhelmingly”
“The base text reads με. The copies also carry the omission [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; early greek manuscript tradition]; the committee kept the base text. evidence is close but slightly favors με; another reader would be welcome”
“The base text reads ἐγὼ. The copies also carry τοῦτο [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; early greek manuscript tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The evidence favors ἐγὼ but is not overwhelming; another reader would be welcome.”
“The base text reads τι. The copies also carry the omission [early greek manuscript tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording τι is retained; the external breadth and internal direction of change both favor it.”
“The base text reads ἄν τι. The copies also carry ὅτι ἄν [greek majuscule; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence is not decisive enough to reach 0.8”
The APB 3.5 decision retained με in the committee's printed text. Its note states: “The base text reads με. The copies also carry the omission [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; early greek manuscript tradition; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text.” It also says, “Evidence is not overwhelming.” The pericope's audit verdict is clean.
The argument for each reading
If “ask me”
Reading A includes με, giving the wording “ask me.” Westcott-Hort, NA28, and RP are listed for this reading in the apparatus. The Westcott-Hort row associates its printed “me” with the earliest manuscripts. NA28 retains the direct formulation, “whatever you ask ME in my name, I will do.” RP also carries με, despite the note that many later manuscripts and the King James tradition lack it. Read this way, John 14:14 explicitly names Jesus as the one asked, while retaining the phrase “in my name” and the promise, “I will do it.”
If “me” is absent
Reading B omits με, yielding “if you ask anything.” Tregelles prints this form and is described as following witnesses in which the verse matches John 15:16 and John 16:23. The APB text for those passages explicitly speaks of asking the Father in Jesus' name: John 15:16 says the Father may give, and John 16:23 says the Father will give. On this account, the shorter wording places John 14:14 alongside those stated formulations, without the additional direct object.
The uncertainty is concentrated in one word: whether John 14:14 explicitly says that Jesus is the one asked. Both readings retain asking “in my name” and the promise that follows. This variant does not by itself settle a doctrine; most doctrines rest on many passages, including the nearby formulations in John 15:16 and John 16:23.
Common questions
Does John 14:14 say “ask me”?
Westcott-Hort, NA28, and RP read με, giving “ask me.” Tregelles omits με, giving the shorter “if you ask anything.”
Does this variant concern praying to Jesus directly?
Yes. With με, John 14:14 explicitly says “ask me”; without it, the verse does not name Jesus as the one asked. The phrase “in my name” remains in both readings.
How do John 15:16 and John 16:23 relate?
The APB text of John 15:16 and John 16:23 speaks of asking the Father in Jesus' name. Tregelles is described as following wording that matches those passages.
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.