Complete textual-variant dossier
No adverse entailment · agrees with the received text
Sections distinguish readings, edition history, evidence, theological consequences, and the Research Center's evaluation. CBGM is an analytical tool; editorial committees—not the software—make textual decisions.
1Passage and issue
Passage
Issue
The principal Greek words are stable; ancient manuscripts do not supply the modern comma. Normal Greek syntax and Jesus’ repeated “Amen, I say to you” formula attach “today” to being with him in paradise, not to the act of speaking.
Variant class
Punctuation
2Textus Receptus
Greek reading
Punctuate: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Authorized Version
“Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43
Edition note
The Research Center uses the received Greek text underlying the Authorized Version as its baseline; edition-specific differences are recorded when the variation unit requires them.
Historical annotation witness
Erasmus’s Annotationes
Erasmus’s printed Greek text, his Latin annotation, and the Research Center’s evaluation are distinct evidence. Each edition remains separately identified because Erasmus revised the Annotationes across his five editions.
Not yet assessed. No inference about Erasmus’s silence has been made. A Latin annotation and translation will appear here only after an edition and exact locus have been verified.
The Erasmus annotation audit has not yet been completed for this locus. Do not infer from this status that Erasmus was silent.
Westminster and Dutch annotation witnesses
Westminster Annotations
Not yet assessed. No inference from silence is made.
Dutch Annotations
Not yet assessed. No inference from silence is made.
3NA28 baseline and critical-text rationale
NA28 baseline reading
Punctuate: “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Translation or explanation
Punctuate: “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Metzger’s report of the UBS committee
Metzger reports the UBS4 committee's treatment of the variation unit. The note grounds the relevant decision in the weight and distribution of external attestation, the likelihood that the competing form is a scribal correction or emendation. This is a controlled synopsis rather than a quotation.
Locator: Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., note on Luke 23:43
ECM / CBGM evidence and editors
No passage-specific ECM/CBGM editorial explanation is attached to this record. Official method sources describe the CBGM as a set of coherence procedures, not a decision-maker: editors define variation units and local stemmata and evaluate pre-genealogical, genealogical, and stemmatic coherence together with transcriptional, intrinsic, and other philological evidence.
4UBS6 and intended NA29 revision
UBS6 retains the NA28 / UBS5 Greek main-text wording in Luke, so no main-text change is shown for this passage. The separate project ledger covers Acts, Mark, and Revelation.
No change row is attached to this passage.
UBS6 is published, and the German Bible Society identifies its Greek main text as identical to the intended NA29 main text. The complete NA29 volume and its apparatus remain forthcoming. Project-ledger rows retain their source and verification statements until they are checked against the published UBS6 text and, when available, the NA29 apparatus.
5Doctrinal and four-point analysis
Effect class
Weakening of explicit biblical testimony
Exact proposition affected
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Doctrinal analysis
The verse does not explain every question about the intermediate state, the location language of descent and ascent, or the resurrection body. Translators must punctuate unpunctuated or lightly punctuated ancient text, and their decisions can carry theology.
Controlled source-list matches
Doctrinal significance and Westminster use
This passage is listed in one or both controlling research files. Their claims are reported with exact source identity and confessional use; list membership does not by itself establish the original reading or the Research Center’s final entailment.
Westminster proof-text listLuke 23:43
A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster Standards
Seth Stark — supplied source file pp. 47–49
Textual wording marked in the source
Received/NKJV side: Jesus
Westminster doctrines and propositions supported
WCF 4.2 — Of Creation
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- with reasonable and immortal souls
WCF 32.1 — Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them:
WLC 17 — How did God create man?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls;
WLC 82 — What is the communion in glory which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- immediately after death Source marks this portion as relying only on this cited proof text
WLC 85 — Death, being the wages of sin, why are not the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their sins are forgiven in Christ?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and to make them capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter upon
WSC 37 — What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and do immediately pass into glory
Editorial qualification: This establishes a confessional proof-text and reception connection. It does not by itself establish the original reading, and its English-version comparison must be checked against the Greek variation unit.
Bahnsen four-point examination
Arbitrariness
At Luke 23:43, the critical choice avoids arbitrariness only to the extent that it states public manuscript, transcriptional, and intrinsic grounds. Editorial status: Preliminary record accepted for staging; independent review remains pending.
Inconsistency
The criteria used at Luke 23:43 must be applied to comparable readings as well. A principle such as age, difficulty, brevity, or coherence cannot be decisive here and quietly reversed elsewhere merely to escape a historical, grammatical, or theological difficulty.
Consequences
Weakening of explicit biblical testimony: The verse does not explain every question about the intermediate state, the location language of descent and ascent, or the resurrection body. Translators must punctuate unpunctuated or lightly punctuated ancient text, and their decisions can carry theology.
Preconditions of intelligibility
The argument presupposes stable authorship, meaningful language, objective logical norms, transmissible evidence, and a coherent account of how Scripture can be received and identified by the church. The analysis tests whether the method can make those conditions intelligible without reducing the text to an indefinitely revisable editorial construct.
This framework examines an argument and its conditions; it does not claim to read an editor's private motives.
6Argument for the received reading
External and historical evidence
The Authorized Version attaches “today” to “shalt thou be with me.” The Greek manuscripts behind both proposals contain the same sequence of words and generally no comma comparable to a modern English mark. Translators must punctuate unpunctuated or lightly punctuated ancient text, and their decisions can carry theology.
Internal and transcriptional evidence
A source-level internal and transcriptional synopsis remains open; consult the full essay.
Reception and ecclesiastical use
The correct punctuation is therefore the traditional one.
Providential-preservation analysis
Providential preservation is not used as a substitute for evidence at Luke 23:43. It supplies the confessional context in which manuscript transmission, broad reception, and the church's actual possession of Scripture are evaluated together.
Canonical coherence with the rest of Scripture
Canonical coherence remains an explicit test: a proposed reading must make grammatical and theological sense within the immediate context and the rest of Scripture. No conflict is asserted merely because two editions differ; the claimed incoherence must be demonstrated at this passage.
Canonical-coherence verdict
The Authorized Version is retained where its representation of the TR forms a coherent reading within the immediate context and the rest of Scripture. Any competing form must demonstrate an equal or better canonical fit rather than merely invoke an edition or method label.
Response to the principal critical argument
Editorial status: Preliminary record accepted for staging; independent review remains pending.
Passage-specific evidence from consulted works
Core 0.6.3 supplied-source audit complete: 1 passage-specific note attached. Incidental citations and global-method sources are retained in the audit report rather than presented as local textual evidence.
A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster StandardsWestminster proof-text and translation comparison
Seth Stark — supplied PDF pp. 47–49
At Luke 23:43, it compares the NKJV/TR-oriented wording “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’”” with the ESV/critical-text wording “And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”” and associates the passage with WCF 4.2, WLC 17, WSC 37.
Editorial use: This establishes a confessional proof-text and reception connection. It does not by itself establish the original reading, and its English-version comparison must be checked against the Greek variation unit.
Conclusion
The promise is more than a timetable. “With me” is its heart. The criminal asks for remembrance in a future kingdom; Jesus promises personal presence before the day ends. Salvation is not merely relocation to a desirable realm. Paradise is paradise because the crucified and victorious Lord is there.
Punctuation cannot responsibly be used to postpone the promise. Jesus speaks at the hour when all visible evidence seems against kingship and answers with sovereign certainty: truly, today, with me.
Logical entailment
The Authorized Version serves as the faithful English representation. The preservation claim applies immediately to the authentic Hebrew and Greek texts—not to an English translation as though it were the inspired source.
Canonical-status rule: Physical printing is not canonical inclusion. If an edition prints a passage in double brackets while judging it secondary or non-original, it disagrees with the received text concerning the identity and extent of inspired Scripture.
No adverse entailment: agrees with the received text.
Necessary reasoning chain
- The current critical main-text reading assessed at Luke 23:43 agrees with the received Hebrew/Greek reading at the variation unit governed by this card.
- An adverse preservation entailment at this locus would require the current critical form to displace a different received reading.
- Because no such displacement occurs at the assessed locus, no adverse preservation consequence follows here.
Sources
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)Chapter 1, section 8 — Governing confessional preservation claim
- F. H. A. Scrivener, The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the Text followed in the Authorized VersionReceived Greek reading
- German Bible Society — UBS6 publications and relation to NA29Current critical-edition, ECM, or editorial documentation
- A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster Standardssupplied PDF pp. 47–49 — Westminster proof-text and translation comparison
- German Bible Society — The Sixth Edition of the Greek New TestamentCurrent critical-edition, ECM, or editorial documentation
Read the full research essay and its sources
Passage: Luke 23:43
Received reading: Punctuate: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Principal competing reading: Punctuate: “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Editorial status: Preliminary record accepted for staging; independent review remains pending.
A comma determines how many English readers hear the promise. The Authorized Version attaches “today” to “shalt thou be with me.” Some groups place the break after today: “I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.” The Greek manuscripts behind both proposals contain the same sequence of words and generally no comma comparable to a modern English mark.
“Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43
The second punctuation is grammatically possible at a bare mechanical level. A temporal adverb can modify “say.” It is pragmatically weak here. The criminal knows Jesus is speaking that day; adding “today” to the speech formula contributes almost nothing.
Across the Gospels, “Amen, I say to you” functions as a fixed introduction. Jesus does not ordinarily insert a date after “I say to you” to emphasize the time of utterance. The natural new information is when the promised fellowship begins: today.
Paradise and the state of the dead
“Paradise” evokes blessed life in God’s presence. The verse does not explain every question about the intermediate state, the location language of descent and ascent, or the resurrection body. It does distinguish Christ’s bodily burial from the personal fellowship he promises the repentant criminal that day.
The correct punctuation is therefore the traditional one. This judgment comes from syntax, discourse, and formula, not from pretending that a comma was inspired on the first parchment. Translators must punctuate unpunctuated or lightly punctuated ancient text, and their decisions can carry theology.
There are minor textual variations nearby—some witnesses explicitly name Jesus as speaker and word order can shift—but they do not create the alternate comma. The Research Center should classify this record as punctuation and interpretation rather than manuscript substitution.
The promise is more than a timetable. “With me” is its heart. The criminal asks for remembrance in a future kingdom; Jesus promises personal presence before the day ends. Salvation is not merely relocation to a desirable realm. Paradise is paradise because the crucified and victorious Lord is there.
Punctuation cannot responsibly be used to postpone the promise. Jesus speaks at the hour when all visible evidence seems against kingship and answers with sovereign certainty: truly, today, with me.
Sources and further reading
- Luke 23:39–46; 2 Corinthians 12:2–4; Philippians 1:21–24; Revelation 2:7.
- The Gospel formula ἀμήν λέγω ὑμῖν/σοι in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
7Related materials
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- Record
- VAR-2124
- Status
- Preliminary
- Version
- 1.1-dossier
- Review
- Level B — Editorial synthesis
- Editor
- Chris Thomas
- Reviewer
- Independent reviewer pending assignment
- First date
- 1st century · Date Range
- Last revised
- 2026-07-22
Evidence and editorial controls
- Verification
- Passage, principal readings, and stated editorial comparison checked against Scrivener’s received Greek text and the SBLGNT text and apparatus; exhaustive manuscript collation remains open. Metzger commentary entries were matched by exact passage where present; ECM/CBGM rationale is passage-specific only when an official editorial explanation is cited. Ledger rows are identified as UBS6 / intended NA29 data but retain their row-level verification caveats pending direct collation. Supplied-source audit completed in Core 0.6.3. Accepted local notes were matched by canonical passage and manually bounded; source claims remain attributed where current apparatus verification is pending.
- Rights and access
- Original editorial synthesis. Biblical readings are short scholarly quotations; cited editions and digital witnesses retain their stated rights and access conditions.
- Known limitations
- Ancient punctuation practice is not identical to modern English punctuation; the conclusion is grammatical and contextual rather than a claim about an original comma.
Links from this record
No public outgoing links are recorded.
Records that cite or connect here
No public backlinks are recorded.
Corrections and evidence submissions
No correction submission is presently attached to this record. Submit evidence or read the correction policy.
Chris Thomas, “Luke 23:43 — “Today Shalt Thou Be with Me in Paradise”: Can Punctuation Reverse the Promise?,” VAR-2124, Confessional Bibliology Research Center, version 1.0-staging, last revised 2026-07-22.
Revision history
- — Chris Thomas