EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 180+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
Major Critical Texts of the New Testament
Byz RP: 2005 Byzantine Greek New Testament, Robinson & Pierpont TR1550: 1550 Stephanus New Testament Maj: The Majority Text (thousands of minuscules which display a similar text) Gries: 1774-1775 Johann Jakob Griesbach Greek New Testament Treg: 1857-1879 Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Greek New Testament Tisch: 1872 Tischendorf’s Greek New Testament WH: 1881 Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament NA28: 2012 Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament UBS5: 2014 Greek New Testament NU: Both Nestle-Aland and the United Bible Society SBLGNT: 2010 Greek New Testament THGNT: 2017 The Greek New Testament by Tyndale House GENTI: 2020 Greek-English New Testament Interlinear
John 5:3b–4
WH NU omit 5:3b–4 𝔓66 𝔓75 א A* B C* L T cop
Variant 1 include only 5:3b D W 33
Variant 2 include only 5:4 A* L
Variant 3/TR include 5:3b–4, with different variations in later manuscripts—printed in TR thus: εκδεχομενων την του υδατος κινησιν 4αγγελος γαρ κατα καιρον κατεβαινεν εν τη κολυμβηθρα, και εταρασσεν το υδωρ· ο ουν πρωτος εμβας μετα την ταραχην του υδατος, υγιης εγινετο, ω δηποτε κατειχετο νοσηματι “waiting for the movement of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first stepped in, after the stirring up of the water, was made well from whatever disease he was afflicted with.” A2 C3 L Θ Ψ 078vid Maj it
The earliest and best witnesses (MSS) 𝔓66 𝔓75 א A* B C* L T D Wsupp 33 itd,I, Q cop[27] Vg Sycdo not have John 5:3b-4 in their exemplar; Other later witnesses (MSS) A2 C3 L Θ Ψ 078vid Maj it[27] did have: “waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel of the Lord would come down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred the water. Whoever went in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.” Later scribes added this interpolation to explain the sick man’s answer in verses 7 where he describes ‘the water being stirred up.’
Philip W. Comfort writes,
This portion (5:3b–4) was probably not written by John, because it is not found in the earliest manuscripts (𝔓66 𝔓75 א B C* T), and where it does occur in later manuscripts it is often marked with obeli (marks like asterisks) to signal spuriousness (so Π 047 syrh marking 5:4). The passage was a later addition—even added to manuscripts, such as A and C, that did not originally contain the portion. This scribal gloss is characteristic of the expansions that occurred in gospel texts after the fourth century. The expansion happened in two phases: First came the addition of 5:3b—inserted to explain what the sick people were waiting for; and then came 5:4—inserted to provide an explanation about the troubling of the water mentioned in 5:7. Of course, the second expansion is fuller and more imaginative. Nearly all modern textual critics and translators will not accept the longer portion as part of the original text. NASB and HCSB, however, continue to retain verses in deference to the KJV tradition.
Bruce M. Metzger writes,
5:3 ξηρῶν {A}
Because the man whom Jesus heals appears to have been a paralytic (a word that occurs nowhere in John), after ξηρῶν the Western text (D ita, , , , , geo2) inserts παραλυτικῶν, which, however, was not taken up in any known later text. A variety of witnesses add, perhaps in order to explain the reference in ver. 7 to the troubling of the water, ἐκδεχομένων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος κίνησιν. The reading, however, is lacking in the oldest and best witnesses (𝔓66, א A* B C* L al) and contains two non-Johannine words (ἐκδέχεσθαι and κίνησις).
5:4 omit verse {A}
Ver. 4 is a gloss, whose secondary character is clear from (1) its absence from the earliest and best witnesses (𝔓66, א B C* D Wsupp 33 itd, , the true text of the Latin Vulgate syrc copsa, , geo Nonnus), (2) the presence of asterisks or obeli to mark the words as spurious in more than twenty Greek witnesses (including S Λ Π 047 1079 2174), (3) the presence of non-Johannine words or expressions (κατὰ καιρόν, ἐμβαίνω, [of going into the water], ἐκδέχομαι, κατέχομαι, κίνησις, ταραχή, δήποτε, and νόσημα—the last four words only here in the New Testament), and (4) the rather wide diversity of variant forms in which the verse was transmitted.
Roger L. Omanson and Bruce Manning Metzger write,
5:3 ξηρῶν (dried up) {A}
Because the man whom Jesus heals appears to have been a paralytic (a word that occurs nowhere in John), after ξηρῶν the Western text adds παραλυτικῶν (paralyzed), which, however, was not taken up in any known later text. Perhaps in order to explain the reference in v. 7 to the troubling of the water, a variety of witnesses add ἐκδεχομένων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος κίνησιν (waiting for the motion/movement of the water). The reading, however, is missing in the oldest and best witnesses and contains two words not used elsewhere by this writer (ἐκδέχεσθαι and κίνησις).
5:4 omit verse {A}
Verse 4 is an addition to the original text. Its secondary character is clear from (1) its absence from the earliest and best witnesses, (2) the presence of asterisks or obeli to mark the words as non-original in more than twenty Greek witnesses, (3) the presence of non-Johannine words or expressions (κατὰ καιρόν, ἐμβαίνω [of going into the water], ἐκδέχομαι, κατέχομαι, κίνησις, ταραχή, δήποτε, and νόσημα—the last four words only here in the NT), and (4) the rather wide diversity of variant forms in which the verse was transmitted.
FC includes the addition in brackets in the text, with a footnote stating, “The passage placed in brackets (end of v. 3 and v. 4) is not found in many ancient manuscripts.” Most modern translations, however, do not include the addition in the text but rather translate it in a footnote and state that this is found in “other ancient authorities” or “some ancient manuscripts.”
TERMS AS TO HOW WE SHOULD OBJECTIVELY VIEW THE DEGREE OF CERTAINTY FOR THE READING ACCEPTED AS THE ORIGINAL
The modal verbs are might have been (30%), may have been (40%), could have been(55%), would have been (80%),must have been (95%), which are used to show that we believe the originality of a reading is certain, probable or possible.
The letter [WP] stands for Weak Possibility (30%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading might have been original in that it is enough evidence to accept that the variant might have been possible, but it is improbable. We can say the reading might have been original, as there is some evidence that is derived from manuscripts that carry very little weight, early versions, or patristic quotations.
The letter [P] stands for Plausible (40%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading may have been original in that it is enough to accept a variant to be original and we have enough evidence for our belief. The reading may have been original but it is not probably so.
The letter [PE] stands for Preponderance of Evidence (55%), which indicates that this is a higher-level proof that the reading could have been original in that it is enough to accept as such unless another reading emerges as more probable.
The letter [CE] stands for Convincing Evidence (80%), which indicates that the evidence is an even higher-level proof that the reading surely was the original in that the evidence is enough to accept it as substantially certainunless proven otherwise.
The letter [BRD] stands for Beyond Reasonable Doubt (95%), which indicates that this is the highest level of proof: the reading must have been original in that there is no reason to doubt it. It must be understood that feeling as though we have no reason to doubt is not the same as one hundred percent absolute certainty.
NOTE: This system is borrowed from the criminal just legal terms of the United States of America, the level of certainty involved in the use of modal verbs, and Bruce Metzger in his A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), who borrowed his system from Johann Albrecht Bengel in his edition of the Greek New Testament (Tübingen, 1734). In addition, the percentages are in no way attempting to be explicit, but rather, they are nothing more than a tool to give the non-textual scholar a sense of the degree of certainty. However, this does not mean the percentages are not reflective of certainty.
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.
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.
Variation Unit: any portion of text that exhibits variations in its reading between two or more different manuscripts. It is important to distinguish variation units from variant readings. Variation units are the places in the text where manuscripts disagree, and each variation unit has at least two variant readings. Setting the limits and range of a variation unit is sometimes difficult or even controversial because some variant readings affect others nearby. Such variations may be considered individually or as elements of a single reading. One should also note that the terms “manuscript” and “witness” may appear to be used interchangeably in this context. Strictly speaking “witness” (see below) will only refer to the content of a given manuscript or fragment, which it predates to a greater or lesser extent. However, the only way to reference the “witness” is by referring to the manuscript or fragment that contains it. In this book, we have sometimes used the terminology “witness of x or y manuscript” to distinguish the content in this way.
B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, Introduction to the New Testament in the Original Greek: Appendix (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1882)
Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006)
Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.) (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994),
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: NTG Apparatus Criticus, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament: Apparatus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017),
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: Novum Testamentum Graece, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012)
Philip Wesley Comfort, A COMMENTARY ON THE MANUSCRIPTS AND TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2015).
Philip W. Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary: Commentary on the Variant Readings of the Ancient New Testament Manuscripts and How They Relate to the Major English Translations (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008).
Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts: Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts, 2 Volume Set The (English and Greek Edition) (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019)
Rick Brannan and Israel Loken, The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Roger L. Omanson and Bruce Manning Metzger, A Textual Guide to the Greek New Testament: An Adaptation of Bruce M. Metzger’s Textual Commentary for the Needs of Translators (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006).
Wallace B., Daniel (n.d.). Retrieved from The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts: http://csntm.org/
