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Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
Verse 34 is not contained in the earliest and diverse manuscripts (P74 א A B E Ψ Maj syrp copbo), while vs. 34 is contained in two different forms in other manuscripts (C 33 614 1739 syr** copsa) “But it seemed good to Silas to remain there” and (P127vid D it,w) “But it seemed good to Silas to remain with them, so Judas traveled alone.”
If the verse was an original part of Luke’s text, there is no good reason for explaining why it would have been omitted in so many ancient manuscripts and versions. Rather, this verse is a classic example of scribal gap-filling, in that it supplied the apparent gap left by the unanswered question of the previous verse (“The eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ ”).
Some translations add verses and phrases that are not in the oldest and most reliable available Bible manuscripts. Many modern translations either omit those later additions or acknowledge that those additions lack support from the most authoritative sources. Many of these were added hundreds of years after the Bible author wrote his book.
The earliest and most reliable manuscripts (P75 א A B L W Δ Θ Ψ f1 33 cop,bo[122]) does not contain 17:36, while later manuscripts (D f 700 it syr) does contain verse 36, “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other will be left.”
Variant Reading(s): differing versions of a word or phrase found in two or more manuscripts within a variation unit (see below). Variant readings are also called alternate readings.
Mark 11:26 Many later Greek manuscripts added vs. 26, as the scribes expanded on verse 25, inserting the words from Matt. 6:15 making it agree with its parallel account. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in the heavens forgive your trespasses.] However, the omission has much stronger manuscript support: א B L W Δ Ψ 565 700 syrs WH NU lack vs 26.
Copyists made some additions to their Greek text at times. They were more inclined to do this than to omit material. One must always carry out careful research of the external and internal evidence to uncover such scribal interpolations. Hence, the most dependable witnesses are from the Alexandrian family of manuscripts found to be the most condensed. On the other hand, the Byzantine family is the most drawn out and extended from scribes taking liberties with the text.
The WH NU reading has the earliest support among the manuscripts. The extra verse was added by scribes, borrowing it directly from 4:23 (see also 4:9) to provide an ending to an otherwise very short pericope, 7:14–15. This addition was included in TR and made popular by KJV, NKJV, NASB, NJB, and HCSB also include this extra verse.
It is notable, though, that various important manuscripts and diverse early witnesses omit these words. Therefore, Matthew 17:21 lacks adequate ancient textual support.
In the case of the New Testament papyri manuscripts, our early evidence for the Greek New Testament, size is irrelevant. They range from centimeters encompassing a couple of verses to a codex with many books of the New Testament. But all of them add something significant.
