Bible Text missing from so many versions

[Stan]

Quote:

Matthew 5:44

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

NKJ

This text must be missing from most translations.

[cricket]

True fact: This verse is in the LBV*, the PBV and the FLBV. But it most definitely missing from the DCV.

______________________________

* LBV, Leather Bound Version. PBV, Paper Back Version. FLBV, Faux Leather Bound Version. DCV, Dust Covered Version.

[lazarus]

It's in my version of the Bible but my problem is getting it off the page and into my heart!

[Neil D]

It's in my version of the Bible but my problem is getting it off the page and into my heart!

Shoot, if you have a problem with that verse, what about me????

Oh, never mind..I am a Tinman...no heart.

[Woody]

Interesting. Rev. Wright thought it meant to "damn" your neighbors and those you perceive to be against you.

[Amelia]

[John317]

Quote:

Matthew 5:44

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

NKJ

This text must be missing from most translations.

The words, "bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you," are missing in v. 44 in the main text of all except the KJV and NKJV. It's in the margins of many others. Jesus probably only said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

However, the words, "Do good to the ones hating you," and "Bless the ones cursing you," are found in Luke 6: 27, 28, where they were indisputably in the original.

Also compare Acts 7: 60; 12: 20.

There is good reason to believe that copyists added those words to Matt. 5: 44 in order to harmonize it with Luke 6: 27, 28. The earliest Greek manuscript of Matt. 5: 44 that contains these words is Manuscript D, dated in the 6th century. Some Church Fathers in the 3rd and 5th centuries also contain the same reading, but Origen (254 AD) and Irenaeus (202 AD) omit those words.

The critical text, and all translations based on it, usually accepts the reading of the Siniaticus and Vaticanus (both of the 4th century) when those two manuscripts are in agreement. The King James and New King James versions are based on a different textual tradition, often very similar to the Majority Text, which accounts for the different readings.

It might be noted that there are many times when the reading based on the agreement of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus is open to dispute and is not followed by the critical text. Both manuscripts contain many errors.

[FoundByLove]

I feel like this verse challenges me to be more concerned with how I'm treating others than how they are making "jerks" (or whatever the nice term for that is) out of themselves. Self-control and self-awareness can be difficult, but it can be done when you are aware that how others see you treating them will sometimes greatly affect how they treat you in the end.

[David Koot]

Thank-you, John317, for sharing with us that very interesting information. I love it!

[Dr. Shane]

It's in my version of the Bible but my problem is getting it off the page and into my heart!

Some just take a black permanent marker and cross it out.

[Tom Wetmore]

Yes, but... this seems to be...

[Stan]

Thank you Tom!!!!

[Dr. Shane]

Interesting. Rev. Wright thought it meant to "damn" your neighbors and those you perceive to be against you.

Is Reverend Wright our neighbor? Now how would we demonstrate our love, compassion, forgiveness and understanding of him?

[David Koot]

Originally Posted By: lazarus

It's in my version of the Bible but my problem is getting it off the page and into my heart!

Shoot, if you have a problem with that verse, what about me????

Oh, never mind..I am a Tinman...no heart.

Oh, come now, Neil, you're no Tin Man. But it is true, we do tend to think that ministers do better in some areas than the rest of the blokes out there.

[David Koot]

But still interesting facts. Aside from the textual issues, no doubt Stan had other reasons for mentioning this passage. Would be interesting to know more about that.

[Woody]

Quote:

Some just take a black permanent marker and cross it out.

Does it have to be 'black' and 'permanent' ?

[David Koot]

'Scarlet' would be more appropriate.

[John317]

Quote:

Matthew 5:44

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

NKJ

This text must be missing from most translations.

Do you think that text is perhaps missing at least sometimes in the translation of the theologian who wrote the following sentences:

1) "All white men are responsible for white oppression."

2) "While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism. Racism, according to Webster, is 'the assumption that psychocultural traits and capacities are determined by biological race and that races differ decisively from one another, which is usually coupled with a belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race and its rights to dominance over others.' "

3) "Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man 'the devil.' The white structure of this American society, personified in every racist, must be at least part of what the New Testament meant by the demonic forces."

4) "Racism is a complete denial of the Incarnation and thus of Christianity...If there is any contemporary meaning of the Antichrist (or "the principalities and powers"), the white church seems to be a manifestation of it. It was the white 'Christian' church which took the lead in establishing slavery as an institution and segregation as a pattern in society by sanctioning all-white congregations." [black Theology and Black Power, p. 73]

5) "Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us, if God is not against white racists, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods that do not belong to the black community." [A Black Theology of Liberation, p. 27]

6) "Black theology cannot accept a view of God which does not represent God as being for oppressed blacks and thus against white oppressors. Living in a world of white oppressors, blacks have no time for a neutral God. The brutalities are too great and the pain too severe, and this means we must know where God is and what God is doing in the revolution. There is no use for a God who loves white oppressors the same as oppressed blacks. We have had too much of white love, the love that tells blacks to turn the other cheek and go the second mile. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power, which is the power of blacks to destroy their oppressors, here and now, by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject God's love." [A Black Theology of Liberation, p. 70]

[John317]

Quote:

Matthew 5:44

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

NKJ

This text must be missing from most translations.

Another text that could literally be missing from some translations is a similar verse found in Luke 23: 34. It's the one where Jesus prays, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

I know that this is not the same thing you had in mind when you posted your original statement, but it is ironic that there is some truth that the origin of both verses is doubtful. For instance, it is certain that Luke's gospel did not contain Luke 23: 34. It was possibly added to the text in the second century. Fortunately, it is kept in the text of most of the best translations, such as NASB, because it appears to be a true saying of Jesus. In that sense it is similar to John 8: 2-11.