Luke 4:4 through the ages:
c. 30-33 AD: Jesus preaches.
c. 50: the verse appears in the Q Gospel.
c. 75: Luke and Matthew copy the verse from Q as Luke 4:4 and Matthew 4:4, quoting Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.
325-50: Codex Vaticanus, the oldest manuscript that has the verse (I added spaces):
και απεκριθη προϲ αυτον ο ι-ϲ γεγραπται οτι ουκ επ αρτω μονω ζηϲεται ο ανθρωποϲ
(my word-for-word translation: and answered to him the Jesus it-is-written that not by bread alone lives the man)
330-60: Codex Sinaiticus – identical to Vaticanus.
400-40: Codex Alexandrinus (with spacing added):
και απεκριθη ι-ς προς αυτον λεγων· γεγραπται οτι ουκ επ αρτω μονω ζησεται ο ανθ-ς αλλ’ επι παντι ρηματι θ-υ
(and answered Jesus to him saying: it-is-written that not by bread alone lives the man, but by every word of-god)
405: Vulgate – St Jerome’s Latin translation, based on the Old Latin Bible and available Greek manuscripts:
et respondit ad illum Iesus scriptum est quia non in pane solo vivet homo sed in omni verbo Dei
(and answered to him Jesus written is that not in bread alone lives man but in every word of-God)
1534: Tyndale:
And Iesus answered hym sayinge: It is writte: man shall not live by breed only but by every worde of God.
1598: Textus Receptus: scholarly reconstruction based on available manuscripts:
και απεκριθη ιησους προς αυτον λεγων γεγραπται οτι ουκ επ αρτω μονω ζησεται ο ανθρωπος αλλ επι παντι ρηματι θεου
(and answered Jesus to him saying it-is-written that not by bread alone lives the man but by every word of-god)
1611: KJV – the King James or Authorized Version, translating the Textus Receptus:
And Iesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man shall not liue by bread alone, but by euery word of God.
1769: KJV with updated spelling and punctuation:
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
1881: Wescott and Hort: scholarly reconstruction:
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς Γέγραπται ὅτι Οὐκ ἐπ’ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
(and answered to him the Jesus It-is-written that Not by bread alone lives the man.)
1881-85: RV:
And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
1904: Greek Orthodox Church:
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγων· Γέγραπται ὅτι οὐκ ἐπ’ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ.
(and answered the Jesus to him saying: It-is-written that not by bread alone lives man, but by every word proceeding through mouth of-God.)
![](https://abagond.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/gideon-luke-4.4-1.jpg?w=500)
Luke 4:4 as it appeared in the 1966 Gideon Bible, used in hotel rooms across the US, still using the 1769 KJV text nearly 200 years later.
2012: Nestle-Aland, 28th edition: latest scholarly reconstruction:
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· γέγραπται ὅτι οὐκ ἐπ’ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
(And answered to him the Jesus: It-is-written that not by bread alone lives the man.)
2021: ESV: straight off the Internet:
And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
Remarks: The vast majority of Greek manuscripts have “but by every word of God.” But it is missing in the two oldest ones with this verse: Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. So, in the wake of the discovery of Sinaiticus in 1844, Western scholars moved it to a footnote as an “alternate reading”.
– Abagond, 2021.
Sources: in particular: Codex Vaticanus (page 1310, starting after the space on line 5 of the third column); Codex Sinaiticus (folio 230b, begins with the first outdented line in third column); Codex Alexandrinus (folio 23r, second line, first column); Gideon Bible (1966); esv.org.
See also:
- The Lord’s Prayer in English through time
- Bible
- Jesus Christ
- The Q Gospel
- Codex Sinaiticus
- Codex Alexandrinus
- Vulgate
- Textus Receptus
- Bible translations
- English Bible translations
- Tyndale
- KJV
- NKJV
- The Gideon Bible – brings up Luke 4:4, inspiring this post.
- ESV
- Veterum Sapientia – the argument for why the Catholic Church should stick to using Latin
- Roman alphabet
- codex
- Internet
637
@ Abagond
The “but by every word of God” is part of the Deuteronomy verse, right? Not just a random addition out of nowhere?
LikeLike
@ Solitaire
Yes, Deuteronomy 8:3 has it. So does the corresponding verse in Matthew (4:4), which, according to one of the NET Bible’s footnoters, is where it came from:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204&version=NET
א = Codex Sinaiticus
B = Codex Vaticanus
A = Codex Alexandrinus
autograph = the original text before it was ever copied
LikeLike