Luke 11:48

So you testify that you approve of ¹  the deeds of your ancestors, ²  because they killed the prophets ³  and you build their ⁴  tombs! ⁵ 

Jos 24:22; 2Ch 36:16; Job 15:6; Ps 64:8; Eze 18:19; Mt 21:35-38; Heb 11:35-38; Jas 5:10

¹ tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”

² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

³ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.

⁵ tc The majority of mss list a specific object (“their tombs”), filling out the sentence (although there are two different words for “tombs” among the mss, as well as different word orders: αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα (autwn ta mnhmeia; found in A C W Θ Ψ 33 Ï) and τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν (tou" tafou" autwn; found in Ë^1,[13] 2542 pc). This suggests that early copyists had no term in front of them but felt the verb needed an object. But since a wide distribution of early Alexandrian and Western mss lack these words (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L 579 1241 it sa), it is likely that they were not part of the original text of Luke. Nevertheless, the words “their tombs” are inserted in the translation because of requirements of English style.