Updated American Standard Version
Giving Bible readers what God said not what translators think God meant
These New Testament verses not included in modern English translations are verses of the New Testament that exist in older English translations (primarily the King James Version) but do not appear or have been relegated to footnotes in later versions, such as the Updated American Standard Version (UASV). Scholars have generally regarded these verses as later additions to the original text.
The long-held task of the textual scholar has been to recover the original reading. It has been the process of attempting to ascertain the original wording of the original New Testament texts. Oh, how things have changed.
The primary weight of external evidence goes to the original language manuscripts. If the weight is so evenly distributed, it is difficult to make a decision; the versions and Church Fathers may serve to tip the scales.
It is notable, though, that various important manuscripts and diverse early witnesses omit these words. Therefore, Matthew 17:21 lacks adequate ancient textual support.
Paul would have been aware of many nuances in his day when it came to the original language, Hebrew text, and the Greek Septuagint. So, this is no easy question to answer.
When you open your Bible today, can you be confident that the words you are reading are, in fact, the very corresponding English words that were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James, and Jude nearly 2,000 years ago? Confident, you say? Just how confident are you? Are you confident because of what you know or what you hear?
Why is this fragment of John’s Gospel so valuable to those who love the Bible today? What did the experts conclude about it?
The latest calculations have all known Greek manuscripts at about 5,898, written from as early as 110 C.E. to as late as the end of the fifteenth-century. P52 although a fragment is one of the most important.
The oldest manuscript of the New Testament known today is P52, a small fragment from John’s Gospel, dated to the first half of the second century (110-150 C.E.).
Journey into the P52 Project: refuting the claim that P52 is not the earliest Greek New Testament manuscript for a deeper insight into New Testament Textual Studies.
