Revelation 1:5, “washed us,” or “freed us” from our sins?
Revelation 1:5 is attested here with both “washed us from our sins in his blood” and “freed us from our sins by his blood.” The difference turns on one vowel in two later-sounding-alike Greek 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 ἐκ [greek majuscule; greek papyrus; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default chosen; evidence is suggestive but not overwhelming because the papyrus support for ἐκ is early, though still outnumbered.”
“The base text reads ἀγαπῶντι. The copies also carry the omission [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence strongly favors ἀγαπῶντι.”
“The base text reads λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ. The copies also carry ἡμᾶς [greek majuscule; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; external evidence strongly favors λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ and internal evidence shows ἡμᾶς is secondary.”
“The base text reads λύσαντι. The copies also carry λούσαντι [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Retain the default. Its substantially earlier support and a plausible explanation for the later wording make the decision secure.”
“The base text reads ἐκ. The copies also carry ἀπὸ [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The early and independent attestation of ἐκ combined with the internal likelihood that ἀπὸ arose as a simplification of ἐκ supports choosing ἐκ as the default wording.”
For the λύσαντι/λούσαντι unit, the APB 3.5 committee retained its base wording. Its decision states: “Retain the default. Its substantially earlier support and a plausible explanation for the later wording make the decision secure.” The committee’s printed text consequently reads, “To the one who loves us and who freed us from our sins by his blood.” The pericope audit verdict is “clean,” and no matching rationale note is recorded for this crux.
The argument for each reading
If “freed us”
Reading A is λύσαντι, “who freed / loosed us.” Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, and Nestle-Aland 28 are listed with this reading, and the apparatus line groups them together: “Revelation 1:5, λύσαντι WH Treg NA28 ] λούσαντι RP”. Their wording presents release from sins, with the supplied witness description comparing it to a captive being released. The accompanying preposition is also divided in the apparatus: “ἐκ WH Treg NA28 ] ἀπὸ RP”. Thus the listed critical editions pair “freed” with ἐκ. The one-vowel difference between λύσαντι and λούσαντι remains central to the comparison, since later Greek pronunciation could allow either form to arise when a copyist wrote by ear.
If “washed us”
Reading B is λούσαντι, “who washed us.” Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform is the listed witness for this wording, and the apparatus records it directly: “Revelation 1:5, λύσαντι WH Treg NA28 ] λούσαντι RP”. The supplied description of this textform connects “washed” with the familiar wording “washed us from our sins in his own blood.” This reading gives the clause an image of cleansing, rather than release or loosening. Its case also has to reckon with the stated copying circumstance: the two Greek words differ by one vowel and sounded alike in later Greek. That circumstance can account for either wording entering a copy through hearing, while the apparatus preserves the actual division shown here.
The wording changes the image applied to Christ’s relation to sins: Reading A speaks of freeing or loosing, while Reading B speaks of washing. Both readings retain the clause’s reference to sins and blood. The packet identifies a one-vowel difference and later Greek homophony, a copying setting that leaves a real question about how the two forms relate. No doctrine can be settled by this single variation; doctrines ordinarily rest on many passages.
Common questions
Does Revelation 1:5 say “washed us” or “freed us”?
The witnesses listed here contain both: WH, Treg, and NA28 read λύσαντι, “freed,” while RP reads λούσαντι, “washed.”
Why are “freed” and “washed” so close in Revelation 1:5?
The supplied explanation is that the Greek words differ by one vowel and sounded alike in later Greek, so either could be produced when a scribe wrote by ear.
Does this variant change the reference to Christ’s blood?
No. Both readings in the packet retain a reference to sins and blood; the variation changes whether the image is freeing or washing.
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.