The Anselm Project Bible · The Crux Registry

Luke 9:55-56 — “you know not what spirit you are of”

The saying is missing where reading A, ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς., ends with a rebuke, while reading B adds Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς. The difference is whether Jesus’ rebuke included those words.

ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς.
epetimēsen autois — “he rebuked them.” — and nothing more
Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς
Ouk oidate hoiou pneumatos este hymeis — “you know not what spirit you are of…”
James and John want fire from heaven; Jesus rebukes them. What he said — if anything — arrives only in the later manuscripts.
IThe Reading

What the APB prints.

He turned and rebuked them.
Luke 9:55 (source numbering) · Anselm Project Bible
IIThe Witnesses

Every witness, on the record.

Westcott-Hort (1881)
WH · critical edition, 1881
αὐτοῖςthe rebuke stands bare
The critical editions end at “he rebuked them,” with P45, P75, and the great uncials. Westcott-Hort (1881) reads αὐτοῖς, leaving the rebuke bare. SBLGNT apparatus (Faithlife, CC BY 4.0)
Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform
RP · Byzantine majority edition, 2005
Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖςthe saying stands
The Byzantine tradition carries the saying (and verse 56's “the Son of Man came not to destroy…”). Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform (2005) includes Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς and notes the longer verse 56. SBLGNT apparatus (Faithlife, CC BY 4.0)
supports if the rebuke was silentsupports if the saying belongs
IIIThe Blind Test

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.

Committee recordaudit verdict: clean

The blind committee record supplies no rationale note for this crux, and the pericope’s audit verdict is 'clean'. Its printed text at Luke 9:55 is: “He turned and rebuked them.” The surrounding APB text records the request for fire and then the journey toward another village.

IVThe Stakes

The case for each reading.

If the rebuke was silent

Reading A keeps Luke 9:55 at ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς.: Jesus turned and rebuked James and John, with no reported words of rebuke. Westcott-Hort (1881) supports this form, and its witness note describes the rebuke as bare. The raw apparatus likewise places WH, Treg, and NA28 with αὐτοῖς. On this reading, the narrative’s emphasis remains on the brothers’ request for fire and Jesus’ response, without specifying his speech. The APB prints this form directly: He turned and rebuked them. The supplied description says that any further wording arrives only in later manuscripts, so reading A presents the shorter account as it stands in the critical-edition line.

If the saying belongs

Reading B retains the same rebuke but gives it words: Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς. Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform (2005) supports this reading, and its witness note says that the Byzantine tradition carries the saying. The raw apparatus records RP with the longer wording after αὐτοῖς. In this form, Jesus’ answer addresses not only the proposed fire from heaven but also the spirit behind the proposal. The packet further notes that this tradition carries verse 56's “the Son of Man came not to destroy…”. Thus the longer reading gives the rebuke an explicit verbal explanation rather than leaving it unspoken.

The supplied evidence identifies two forms of the rebuke but does not settle the question here. The difference is whether Luke 9:55 reports only the rebuke or also its stated explanation. What does not hinge on this variant in the supplied APB context is that James and John request fire, Jesus rebukes them, and they continue toward another village. A doctrinal conclusion should not be made from this one variation alone; doctrines rest on many passages.

VQuestions

Asked plainly.

Why do some Bibles omit ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of?

Luke 9:55 has two supplied readings. Westcott-Hort (1881) ends with the rebuke, while Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform (2005) includes Οὐκ οἰδατε οἵου πνεύματός ἐστε ὑμεῖς.

What is the difference in Luke 9:55?

Reading A reports that Jesus rebuked them. Reading B reports the rebuke and adds a saying about what spirit they are of.

Does the APB include the longer saying?

No. The APB prints: “He turned and rebuked them.”

VIThe Registry

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.