NOTES: "Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled [their] ministry"
EVIDENCE: {p⁷⁴ A} D Psi {33} 614 three lat vg syr(h) {cop(north)}
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIV NEB TEV

OTHER: "Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem to Antioch when they had fulfilled [their] ministry"
EVIDENCE: E 323 {945 1739 two lat syr(p) cop(south)}

COMMENTS: The Greek preposition in the text (literally, "into") can be taken either to mean "in" or "to." If it means "in" it modifies "fulfilled"; if it means "to" it modifies "returned" and implies that Barnabas and Saul personally took the gift of relief to the elders in all the churches throughout Judea (Acts 11:29-30). Because chapter 13 opens with Barnabas and Saul at Antioch, many copyists expected the text to say that they left Jerusalem. Therefore they changed "into" to either "from" or "out of" (those manuscripts reading "out of" are enclosed in braces above) and some of them added "into Antioch."

Acts 13:18:

NOTES: "he like a nurse cared for them in the wilderness."
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ A^c C* E Psi 33^vid three lat syr cop
TRANSLATIONS: ASV RSVn NASVn NIVn NEBn TEVn

COMMENTS: The difference in the two readings is only one letter: the text reading has a "p" and the reading in the notes has a "ph" or "f." Thus the variation is due to a mistake of the ear. It is difficult to know which is original. The allusion is to Deuteronomy 1:31 where the Greek Old Testament shows the same variation. Since most Old Testament manuscripts read "he like a nurse cared for," it is slightly more probably that "he put up with" was changed to "he like a nurse cared for" to read like the prevailing Old Testament text than vice versa.

Acts 13:33:

NOTES: "God has fulfilled to our children"
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ S A B C* D four lat vg
TRANSLATIONS: ASV NASV NEBn

NOTES: "God has fulfilled to their children"
EVIDENCE: 629 one lat most cop
TRANSLATIONS: none

NOTES: "God has fulfilled to the children"
EVIDENCE: some cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: NEB

OTHER: "God has fulfilled to us children"
EVIDENCE: 142

OTHER: "God has fulfilled to ^plyour children"
EVIDENCE: Psi one lat

COMMENTS: The word "their" is in brackets in the UBS text. Three readings commend themselves as possibly original: "us their," "our," and "us." Since "our" is not expected, it is possible that it was changed to "us" or to "their." If "our" is original then "us their" would be a combination of two attempts to make better sense of the passage. If "us" is original, "our" would have been an early corruption which led to a correction "their" and "us their" would have been a combination of two readings. If "us their" is original, "us" and "their" would have come from it when one word or the other was accidently left out, and "our" would have been an early corruption of "us." The reading "^plyour" is due to a mistake of the ear, since in later Greek the words for "our" and "^plyour" sounded alike.

Acts 13:33:

NOTES: "written in the first psalm"
EVIDENCE: D three lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

NOTES: "written in the psalm"
EVIDENCE: p^45vid ("psalms") 522 1175
TRANSLATIONS: none

COMMENTS: In both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds there are examples of Jewish rabbis treating the first and second psalms as one psalm, thus making the quotation (Psalm 2:7) from the first psalm rather than the second psalm. The Greek Old Testament treats these as two separate psalms, making the quotation from the second psalm. This explains the two different readings "first" and "second." But did Luke follow the Greek Old Testament or the Jewish rabbinic method of numbering the psalms? Since there is no evidence that the rabbinic method of numbering the psalms was in use in the first century and because only a few Western manuscripts have the reading "first," it is likely that Luke originally wrote "second." Although it is possible that the omission of either word is original, it is unlikely that so many manuscripts would have added a number if that had been the case.

Acts 13:44:

NOTES: "gathered together to hear the word of God."
EVIDENCE: B* C E P Psi 614 1241 2495 Byz two lat later vg syr cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NEB

OTHER: "gathered together to hear much word that Paul made about the Lord."
EVIDENCE: D (both Greek and Latin)

COMMENTS: The phrase "the word of God" is much more common in the New Testament than "the word of the Lord"; thus copyists would be more likely to change the less common phrase to the more common one than vice versa. See below.

Acts 13:48:

NOTES: "and glorifying the word of God"
EVIDENCE: B E (Greek only) cop(north) one cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: ASV RSV NASVn

OTHER: "and accepted the word of God"
EVIDENCE: D (Greek only) one lat ("the word of the Lord")

OTHER: "and glorifying God"
EVIDENCE: 614 syr

COMMENTS: The expression "glorify the word of the Lord" or "glorify the word of God" does not occur elsewhere in scripture which caused copyists to change it in some way ("accept the word" or "glorify God"). Although it is possible that "the word of the Lord" was borrowed by copyists from verse 49, since the phrase "the word of God" is much more common in the New Testament than "the word of the Lord," copyists would be more likely to change the less common phrase to the more common one than vice versa.

Acts 15:18:

NOTES: "'things.' ·Known to the Lord from an age [long past] is his work."
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ A D two lat vg
TRANSLATIONS: NIVn

NOTES: "'things.' ·Known to God from an age [long past] are all his works."
EVIDENCE: E P 614 1241 Byz two lat syr
TRANSLATIONS: KJV

COMMENTS: The phrase "known from an age [long past] is an elliptical phrase added by James to the quotation from Amos 9:12. Since the quotation ends with "things," many copyists expanded this phrase into a complete sentence.

Acts 15:20:

NOTES: "abstain from the pollutions of idols and [from] what is strangled and [from] blood."
EVIDENCE: p⁴⁵
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

NOTES: "abstain from the pollutions of idols and [from] fornication and [from] blood."
EVIDENCE: one lat
TRANSLATIONS: RSVn NEBn

NOTES: "abstain from the pollutions of idols and [from] fornication and [from] blood; and what they do not wish to be done to themselves do not do to others."
EVIDENCE: D (both Greek and Latin)
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

NOTES: "abstain from the pollutions of idols and [from] fornication and [from] what is strangled and [from] blood; and whatever they do not wish to be done to themselves not to do to others."
EVIDENCE: 945 1739 one lat cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

COMMENTS: The text reading is adequately supported by early manuscripts of several kinds of ancient text. The omission of "and fornication" may have been due to a mistake of the eye, when copyists' eyes jumped from "and" to "and." On the other hand, it may have been due to an attempt by copyists to make all of the laws ceremonial. While it might be possible that "and things strangled" was accidently omitted due to a mistake of the eye, the fact that the same words are omitted in verse 29 and the negative golden rule added seem to indicate that this was an attempt to make all the laws moral ones (taking "blood" as "blood-shedding" and adding the negative golden rule). See verse 29.

Acts 15:24:

NOTES: "we have heard that some from us" EVIDENCE: S* B 88
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn RSV NASV NEB
COMMENTS: The Greek word for "who went out" is in brackets in the UBS text. Although "who went out" might have been added under the influence of Galatians 2:12 or to avoid the idea that the senders ("some of us") of the letter were teaching this, its presence in so many manuscripts of different kinds of ancient text indicates that it is probably original.

Acts 15:29:

NOTES: "abstain from [meat] sacrificed to idols and [from] blood and and [from] fornication; and what ^plyou do not wish to be done to ^plyourselves not to do to another."
EVIDENCE: D two lat some vg
TRANSLATIONS: RSVn (only the omission) NEBn

NOTES: "abstain from [meat] sacrificed to idols and [from] blood and [from] things strangled and [from] fornication; and what ^plyou do not wish to be done to ^plyourselves not to do to others."
EVIDENCE: 614 {945 1739 three lat some vg} cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

NOTES: "abstain from [meat] sacrificed to idols and [from] blood and [from] what is strangled."
EVIDENCE: one vg*
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

COMMENTS: The evidence listed above in braces reads "what is strangled" rather than "things strangled." This was probably a change made by copyists to make the text read like verse 20. While it might be possible that "and things strangled" was accidently omitted due to a mistake of the eye, the fact that the same words are omitted in verse 20 and the negative golden rule added seem to indicate that this was an attempt to make all the laws moral ones. See verse 20.

Acts 15:34:

NOTES: include verse 34: "·But it seemed [good] to Silas to remain there."
EVIDENCE: C 33 614 945 1739 one lat some cop(north) cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn RSVn NASVn NIVn NEBn TEVn

NOTES: "include verse 34: "·But it seemed [good] to Silas to remain there, and only Judas went."
EVIDENCE: D five lat
TRANSLATIONS: none

NOTES: "include verse 34: "·But it seemed [good] to Silas to remain there, and only Judas went to Jerusalem."
EVIDENCE: one lat later vg
TRANSLATIONS: none

COMMENTS: In verse 40 we find Silas again in Antioch after leaving for Jerusalem in verse 33. To explain this, some copyists added this sentence saying that he never left.

Acts 16:11:

NOTES: "Therefore setting sail from Troas"
EVIDENCE: B C H L Maj one lat syr(h) cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NEB ("So")

OTHER: "Now the next day setting sail from Troas"
EVIDENCE: D 614

COMMENTS: The NIV and TEV do not have any conjunction. It was more usual to have "Therefore" begin a new section than "Now," so many copyists replaced "Now" with "Therefore."

Acts 16:12:

NOTES: "Philippi, which is a principal city of the district of Macedonia"
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ S A B C P Psi 33 81 945 Byz most lat vg cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIV NEB TEVn

OTHER: "Philippi, which is a principal city of Macedonia"
EVIDENCE: 614 1241 1739 2495 syr(h)

OTHER: "Philippi, which is a head city of Macedonia"
EVIDENCE: D (both Greek and Latin) syr(p)

COMMENTS: The final letter of "first" is enclosed in brackets in the UBS text. If omitted it would give the reading in the notes. The text reading is essentially a conjecture that was supported by three out of five members of the UBS Textual Committee because of the difficulty of understanding the phrase "first city." It does not mean "the chief city" (KJV) or "the leading city" (RSV and NIV), for that honor goes to the city of Thessalonica. However, as two of the five members point out, it can mean "a leading city" and that is probably its meaning here. The reading in the notes is preferable. The RSV gives a footnote saying that the Greek text is uncertain.

Acts 16:13:

NOTES: "riverside, where it was being supposed there was a place of prayer"
EVIDENCE: A*(vid)? E P 614 945 1241 1739 2495 Byz syr?
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn NEBn

OTHER: "riverside, where he was supposing there was a place of prayer"
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ S

OTHER: "riverside, where it seemed there was a place of prayer"
EVIDENCE: D lat vg syr?

COMMENTS: The reading in the notes can also be translated "where, according to the custom, there was a place of prayer." Out of a variety of readings the UBS Textual Committee chose a reading that was supported by early manuscripts.

Acts 16:32:

NOTES: "they spoke the word of God to him"
EVIDENCE: S* B
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn NASVn NEBn

OTHER: "they spoke the word to him"
EVIDENCE: one lat

COMMENTS: The phrase "the word of God" is much more common in the New Testament than "the word of the Lord"; thus copyists would be more likely to change the less common phrase to the more common one than vice versa.

Acts 16:36:

NOTES: "'now therefore come out and go.' ·But"
EVIDENCE: D two lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

COMMENTS: Perhaps the words "in peace" were omitted by copyists who felt they were inappropriate for a jailer.

Acts 17:4:

NOTES: "and not a few of the wives of prominent [men]."
EVIDENCE: D three lat vg syr cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

COMMENTS: It is possible also to translate the text reading as the reading in the notes is translated, but the reading in the notes cannot be translated as the text reading. Probably copyists chose to make one meaning clear and remove the ambiguity by changing the wording.

Acts 17:26:

NOTES: "he made from one blood every nation of men"
EVIDENCE: D E P 614 945 1241 2495 Byz Lect lat syr
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn

OTHER: "he made from one mouth every nation of men"
EVIDENCE: Psi

COMMENTS: It is possible that the word "blood" was accidently omitted by a mistake of the eye (both "one" and "blood" end in the same two letters) or that it was deliberately omitted because Genesis 2:7 says that God made man from dust, but since it missing from most Alexandrian manuscripts and some Western, and is the kind of addition that Western copyists often made, it is omitted from the text here.

Acts 17:28:

NOTES: "as even some among ^plyou have said"
EVIDENCE: D two lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

NOTES: "as even some of our poets have said"
EVIDENCE: p⁷⁴ B 614
TRANSLATIONS: none

COMMENTS: The difference between the text reading and the first reading in the notes is the omission of the word "poets." The reading "our" arose through a mistake of the ear, for in later Greek "^plyour" and "our" were pronounced alike. Although it is possible that the word "poets" was added because Aratus whom Paul quotes was a poet, it is more likely that some copyists did not feel that quoting "poets" was proper, and so they deleted the word.

Acts 17:30:

NOTES: "but now he tells all men everywhere to repent"
EVIDENCE: S* B most lat vg cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn NASV ("declares to")

COMMENTS: There is only a two letter difference between the two readings. Perhaps some copyists thought that it was not seemly for God to "command" people to repent.

Acts 18:7:

NOTES: "went to the house of one named Titus Justus"
EVIDENCE: S E 945 1739 three lat? vg? most cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: ASV RSVn NASVn

NOTES: "went to the house of one named Justus"
EVIDENCE: A B³ D* P psi 33 614 1241 2495 Byz one lat
TRANSLATIONS: KJV NASVn

OTHER: "went to the house of one named Titus"
EVIDENCE: some vg syr(p) one cop(north) cop(south)

COMMENTS: The less common name "Titius" seems to have been changed by copyists to the more common name "Titus." The name "Titius" was apparently omitted due to a mistake of the eye. Copyists seeing "ONOMATITITIOUIOUSTOU" ("named Titius Justus") wrote it "ONOMATIIOUSTOU" ("named Justus"), being confused by the three occurrences of "TI" and two of "IOU" in a row. Early Greek manuscripts were written in all capital letters with no spaces between words.

Acts 18:21:

NOTES: "and said, 'I by all means have to keep the coming feast in Jerusalem. I will return again'"
EVIDENCE: D P Psi 614 1241 2495 Byz four lat some vg syr
TRANSLATIONS: KJV

COMMENTS: The added statement has several variations in Greek. It is similar to Acts 20:16. If it were original there is no good reason why it would have been omitted from so many early manuscripts of different kinds of ancient text.

Acts 18:25:

NOTES: "teaching accurately the things concerning the Lord"
EVIDENCE: P Byz Lect
TRANSLATIONS: KJV NEBn

COMMENTS: The word "Lord" may have been borrowed from the first part of the verse. The reading "Jesus" is found in early manuscripts of several kinds of ancient text.

Acts 18:26:

NOTES: "expounded to him the way more accurately."
EVIDENCE: D two lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEB

NOTES: "expounded to him the way of the Lord more accurately."
EVIDENCE: E 2495 four lat later vg syr(p)
TRANSLATIONS: none

OTHER: "expounded to him the word of the Lord more accurately."
EVIDENCE: 945 1739

COMMENTS: The words "of God" are enclosed in brackets in the UBS text, because "the way" is used alone several times to describe Christianity (see Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The text reading, however, has the best manuscript support.

Acts 19:8:

NOTES: "persuading about the kingdom of God"
EVIDENCE: B D Psi 1175
TRANSLATIONS: RSV NASV NIV NEB TEV

COMMENTS: The words "[as to] the things" are a translation of the plural definite article, which is enclosed in brackets in the UBS text, because it is missing from early manuscripts of two kinds of ancient text.

Acts 19:9:

NOTES: "lectured daily in the school of Tyrannus from the fifth hour to the tenth."
EVIDENCE: D 614 four lat some vg
TRANSLATIONS: RSVn TEVn

COMMENTS: While this addition about Paul teaching from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. may be based on oral tradition and thus be true, the fact that it is missing from early manuscripts of several kinds of ancient text shows that it is not original, for there would have been no good reason for copyists to have omitted it.

Acts 19:39:

NOTES: "if ^plyou seek anything about other [matters], it shall be settled"
EVIDENCE: S A D P Psi 614 1241 2495 Byz two lat vg syr cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSVn

OTHER: "if ^plyou seek anything about another [matter], it shall be settled"
EVIDENCE: E

COMMENTS: The difference between the two readings is that of three letters. The change was probably due to a mistake of the ear. This is the only place that the rare adverb "further" is found in the New Testament, which makes it likely that copyists would replace it with something more usual. The reading chosen for the text seems to fit the context better. The reading of manuscript E changes the plural to the singular.

Acts 20:4:

NOTES: "was accompanying him as far as Asia; and"
EVIDENCE: A D E P Psi 614 945 1241 1739 2495 Byz three lat syr(p,h)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV

COMMENTS: It is possible that the words "as far as Asia" were omitted by copyists who noted that at least Trophimus and Aristarchus went all the way to Jerusalem with Paul (see Acts 21:29; 27:2). On the other hand it is omitted by early manuscripts of both the Alexandrian and Western types of ancient text.

Acts 20:4:

NOTES: "and Gaius of Doberus, and Timothy"
EVIDENCE: D* two lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEB

COMMENTS: There is an apparent contradiction between Acts 19:29, which identifies Gaius as a Macedonian, and this verse, which says that Gaius was from Derbe. To remove this apparent contradiction, a few copyists changed the name "Derbe," a city of southern Galatia, to "Doberus," a Macedonian military post-town near Mt. Pangaios, on the road from Philippi. Although it is possible that two different men are named Gaius, it is more likely that Gaius was born in one area and had made his home in the other.

Acts 20:5:

NOTES: "·Now these came to [Troas] and were waiting"
EVIDENCE: S A(vid) B* E P Psi 945 1241 1739 2495 some Byz
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn

COMMENTS: The difference in the two readings is only one letter. The text reading seems to go with the omission of "as far as Asia" in the preceding verse, although it is supported by different evidence.

Acts 20:15:

NOTES: "Samos; and after remaining at Trogyllium the [day] after that"
EVIDENCE: D P 614 945 1241 2495 Byz two lat syr cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn RSVn NASVn NEBn

COMMENTS: While the location of Trogyllium makes a landing there possible, the fact that the words are omitted from early manuscripts of both Alexandrian and Western types of ancient text means that the words were probably added by copyists who were familiar with sailing habits.