Papyrus 4

Date: 125-175 A.D.

Discovered: Coptos, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile

Location: Paris, France; Bibliothèque Nationale

Contents: Luke 1:58-59, 1:62-2:1, 2:6-7, 3:8-4:2, 4:29-32, 4:34-35, 5:3-8, 5:30-6:16

Notes: This papyrus is believed to be part of the same manuscript as Papyrus 64 and Papyrus 67

 

Luke 1

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

[..]

⁶² They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.

⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.”

They all marveled. ⁶⁴ His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵ Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For[1] the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people;
⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰     (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been[2] from of old),
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² to show mercy toward our fathers,
    to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
⁷⁴     to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
    should serve him without fear,
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷     to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
⁷⁹     to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰ The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

 

Luke 2

Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

[..]

⁶ While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. ⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

[..]

 

Luke 3

⁸ Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! ⁹ Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”

¹² Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”

¹³ He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”

¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”

He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, ¹⁷ whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, ¹⁹ but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, ²⁰ added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. ²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily spiritual form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”

²³ Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram Admin, the son of Arnei[3], the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

 

Luke 4

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.

[..]

²⁹ They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

³¹ He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.

[..]

³⁴ saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

[..]

 

Luke 5

³ He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But Simon Peter, when he saw it,[4] fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.”

[..]

³⁰ Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

³³ They said to him, “Why do[5] John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”

³⁴ He Jesus[6] said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ He also told a parable to them. “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old garment, or else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ No one puts new wine into old wine skins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.[7] ³⁹ No man having drunk old wine immediately[8] desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

 

Luke 6

Now on the second Sabbath after the first[9], he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do[10] on the Sabbath day?”

³ Jesus, answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he, and those who were with him; ⁴ how he entered into God’s house, and took and taking[11], ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” ⁵ He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶ It also[12] happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up, and stand in the middle.” He arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something[13]: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill destroy[14]?” ¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored as sound as the other.[15] ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.

¹² In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; and[16] James; and John; and Philip; and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ And Matthew; and Thomas; and James, the son of Alphaeus; and Simon, who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ And Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.