Luke 9:55-56, “you know not what spirit you are of”
The phrase ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of is absent where reading A gives only the rebuke; reading B adds Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς. The difference concerns whether Jesus’ rebuke includes spoken words.
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 καὶ εἶπεν, οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς. [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence favors the omission.”
“The base text reads αὐτοῖς. The copies also carry αὐτοῖς, καὶ εἶπεν, Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence is strong.”
The APB 3.5 textual decision kept the base text at this verse. Its note says, “The base text reads αὐτοῖς. The copies also carry αὐτοῖς, καὶ εἶπεν, Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence is strong.” The committee’s printed text therefore reads, “He turned and rebuked them.”
The argument for each reading
If the rebuke was silent
Reading A keeps the scene at the point of rebuke. WH reads αὐτοῖς, and its description says that the rebuke stands bare. The apparatus places WH with αὐτοῖς, while the expanded wording appears on the other side of the bracket. In this form, Jesus’ response is represented by his turning and rebuking James and John. The APB printed text follows that concise sequence: after their request for fire, “He turned and rebuked them.” A reader considering the shorter reading can regard the rebuke itself as a complete narrative response, without further reported speech.
If the saying belongs
Reading B gives spoken content to the rebuke: Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς. RP prints this wording, and its witness note says that the Byzantine tradition carries the saying. The apparatus likewise records αὐτοῖς, καὶ εἶπεν, Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς for RP. In this reading, Jesus’ response addresses the disposition behind James and John’s request for fire. The narrative still includes the rebuke, but the saying makes its verbal content explicit: “you know not what spirit you are of…”
The uncertainty is whether the rebuke was reported without further words or with the saying in reading B. Both forms retain the request for fire and Jesus’ rebuke; the APB text also continues with travel toward another village. This variant changes the reported wording of the scene, not the fact that James and John made the request or that Jesus rebuked them. Most doctrines rest on many passages.
Common questions
Why is ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of missing from some Bibles?
Some editions print reading A, which ends with Jesus rebuking them. Reading B includes Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς as spoken content of that rebuke.
Which editions represent the two readings?
WH supports reading A with αὐτοῖς. RP supports reading B with Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς.
What did the APB committee print at Luke 9:55?
Its printed text says, “He turned and rebuked them.” The 3.5 decision records that the committee kept the base text while noting the longer wording in copies.
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.