chapter-level decision records generated from the live translation registry
The evidence beneath the English
Every consequential choice
leaves a record.
John, Mark, Matthew, and Luke were developed through direct Greek analysis, lexical work, and manuscript comparison. Where surviving witnesses materially disagree, the competing Greek readings and their effect on English remain open to the reader.
public provenance schema, designed to remain machine-readable and auditable
standardized inspectable Greek reference edition
Textual basis
SBL Greek New Testament
Edited by Michael W. Holmes. The project's standardized, publicly inspectable Greek reference edition. It is not presented as retroactive proof that every existing chapter originated from one uniform printed edition.
This is an honest reference claim, not a retroactive claim that all completed work began from one uniform printed edition. Material manuscript forks remain independently documented at the reading they affect.
Translation record
Matthew 21
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matthew.21.mt21TwoSons
πρῶτος / ὕστερος
TEXTBOUNDARYTRANSLATIONunresolved confidence
Which son does the father’s will?
The manuscripts preserve three arrangements of the sons’ answers and the leaders’ response. Two coherent forms reverse which son appears first; a Western form keeps the actions but gives the seemingly wrong answer.
Why this default
The first-no form is the working default because it has the broadest coherent support and preserves the natural force of repentance. The first-yes form is also ancient and coherent; the Western answer remains the hardest but least intelligible.
Evidence
ExternalFirst says no/then goes, answer ‘first’: א, C, L, W, Z, Δ, 0102, 0281, family 1, 33 and broad tradition. First says yes/does not go, answer ‘last’: B, Θ, family 13, 700 and versions. Western form: D and Old Latin.
InternalScribes could reorder the sons to make ‘first/last’ symbolism more explicit, while labels like first/other/last are exceptionally vulnerable to alteration. No single route explains every form with certainty.
Project defaultThe first said no, then went; the second said yes, but did not. They answer: The first
Project default · broad coherent form
Witnessesno→go / yes→not go / answer first · א, C, L, W, Z, Δ, 0102, 0281, f¹, 33AlternativeThe first said yes, but did not; the second said no, then went. They answer: The last
Ancient reversed order
Witnessesyes→not go / no→go / answer last · B, Θ, f¹³, 700AlternativeThe first said no, then went; the second said yes, but did not. They answer: The last
Difficult Western form
Witnessesno→go / yes→not go / answer last · D, Old LatinRecord integrity
One registry drives both the reader and this record.
The manifest is regenerated from the translation source before every production build. Its source digest is 450adc54c1fc782fbae5e9ed6a640a2ae0e3be080722ac134c84e1248c2a312a.
Decision-level revision history begins with this ledger. Earlier development is not reconstructed into false precision; future material changes can be appended to the relevant record with their reason and date.