Problems with the so called "Majority Text" view.

The “Majority Text” is far more similar to Received Text that underlies the King James Bible for the New Testament than is the ever changing Vatican supervised Critical text that underlies such constantly changing versions like the ESVs, NASBs, NIVs, NET, etc. but is also quite different in many other places.

For example, the “Majority” Text includes 39 entire verses that are either omitted or called into question in the Nestle-Aland Critical text.  These are Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44 and 9:46; 11:26; 15:28 and all of Mark 16:9-20; Luke 9:55-56; 23:17; John 5:3-4 and all of John 7:53 to 8:11; Acts 28:29 and Romans 16:24.

However the “Majority” Text does not contain 5 verses that are found in the Textus Receptus (Received Text) that underlies the King James Bible and most other Reformation bibles in multiple languages.  These include Luke 17:36; Acts 8:37; Acts 15:34; Acts 24:7 and 1 John 5:7.

There are actually two different competing “Majority Text” versions out there and they even differ from each other in their Greek readings well over 300 times, and this is just in the New Testament.

You can see these Greek textual differences here between the Hodges and Farstad edition 1985 and the Robinson and Pierpont edition of 1991.

Collation of the text of Hodges and Farstad against the text of Robinson and Pierpont

https://www.bible-researcher.com/robinson-hodges.html

Perhaps the most notable difference in their Greek texts is found in Revelation 4:8 where in the King James Bible, and every other Bible in multiple languages I know of,  tells us of the four beasts who rest not day nor night saying “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

Here the "Majority" text by Hodges and Farstad says "Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty (9 times the word "holy”)  but the "Majority" text by Robinson - Pierpont only has "holy" only three times.

Obviously both readings cannot in fact be “the” Majority.

Hodges and Farstad "Majority" Text.

Revelation 4:8 -

4:8 And the four living beings, each one having six wings apiece, were full of eyes around and within. And they never rest day or night, saying, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God Almighty, He who was, and who is, and who is to come!"

https://textusreceptusbibles.com/EMTV/66/4

Robinson -  Pierpont "Majority Text" - Revelation 4:8 online. - has the word "holy" only three times.

8 Καὶ τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα, ἓν καθ’ ἓν ἔχον ἀνὰ πτέρυγας ἓξ κυκλόθεν, καὶ ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, λέγοντες, Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος.

You can see it here -

https://byzantinetext.com/.../08/RP2016-Readers-Edition.pdf

Another example of real textual differences between these two “Majority” text versions is found in John 8:6 where the KJB reads: “…Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, AS THOUGH HE HEARD THEM NOT.”

The Greek reading is μη προσποιουμενος.  And the Hodges Farstad Majority omits these words from their text though it mentions this reading as being found in some Greek manuscripts in the footnote.  But the Majority Text by Robinson Pierpont 2005 edition includes this reading in their text.

https://byzantinetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/editions-rp2.pdf

The so called “Majority” text by Hodges and Farstad is divided up into 5 sections at the bottom of the page where their "Majority" readings are listed. There are parts or variant readings listed under sections labeled as a, b, c, d and e, where some of these read one way and others a different way and yet others still a different way than the other ones. 

There are literally hundreds of different readings in the textual apparatus of the Hodges & Farstad “Majority” Text.

Just because a certain Greek manuscript might have been copied many times and passed around to many other Christians does not necessarily mean that it was a good copy of the Scriptures.

For example, let’s take a look at the two so called “oldest and best manuscripts” (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus)  that often reject both the Textus Receptus and the “Majority” readings when they differ from the Critical Text of versions like the ESV, NASB, NIV, NET, Legacy Standard Bible, etc.

Sometimes they have absurd readings that no Bible follows.

In Matthew 27:49 BOTH Sinaiticus and Vatican’s as well as Codex C ADD the words "AND ANOTHER TOOK A SPEAR AND PIERCED HIS SIDE AND THERE CAME OUT WATER AND BLOOD."  

But NO bible version includes these words here. Why? Because this textual blunder would have our Lord Jesus being put to death, and then He continues to speak several whole sentences afterwards.

AFTER the event recorded in Matthew 27:49 when Jesus said "I thirst" (John19:28) and one gave him to drink a sponge filled with vinegar (Compare Matthew 27:34 (gall offered but not drunk) with Matthew 27:48 vinegar offered and drunk), they said: "Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.", THEN we have the Lord Jesus recorded as saying: "It is finished." in John 19:30 and finally "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And he gave up the ghost." in  Luke 23:46.

Sinaiticus also omits the words "BUT THE REST OF THE DEAD LIVED NOT AGAIN UNTIL THE THOUSAND YEARS WERE ENDED. This is the first resurrection." from Revelation 20:5 and has some rather peculiar readings in the book of Revelation.

In Revelation 21:5 where Jesus says "Behold,I make all things NEW", Sinaiticus reads: "I make all things EMPTY."

And in Revelation 4:8 where the four beasts give glory to the Lord God Almighty saying "Holy, holy, holy" the Sinaiticus manuscript actually says "Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy" - 8 times instead of 3.

And in Revelation 10:1 where a mighty angel comes down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and A RAINBOW was upon his head, the original Sinaiticus manuscript tells us that this angel was clothed with a cloud and HAIR on its head.

Revelation 7:4 and 14:3- Both verses mention the number of 144,000. However Sinaiticus has 140,000 in 7:4 and 141,000 in 14:3.

SINAITICUS (Aleph) completely OMITS the following verses while they are found in Vaticanus. 

Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"; 

Luke 10:32 - "And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side."; 

Luke 17:35 - "Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."; 

John 9:38 - "And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said"(omitted in Sinaiticus original and P75, but found in Vaticanus and P66); 

John 16:15 - "All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."; 

John 21:25 - "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."; 

1 Corinthians 2:15- "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." 

If multiple copies had been made of the Sinaiticus manuscript, then how accurate would these copies have been?  Not so much, right?

Or If it had been Vaticanus?

Vaticanus contains several Apocryphal books like 3 Esdras, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, and the Epistle of Jeremiah, all intermingled with the traditional Hebrew Scriptures.  It also contains the Gospels, Acts, the General Epistles, Paul's Epistles, and Hebrews 1:1 to Hebrews 9:14.  However the ending of Hebrews is missing from chapter 9:14 to Hebrews 13:15. It is also missing First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon and the book of Revelation.

VATICANUS omits the following verses while Sinaiticus retains them: Matthew 12:47. The ESV omits this verse but the NASB, NIV, Holman and NET version retain it.

Luke 23:34 - "THEN SAID JESUS, FATHER, FORGIVE THEM; FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

Vaticanus omits it, and James White says this verse should not be in the Bible even though it is in the ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, Holman, etc.  See the whole study here -

jwonluke2334.htm

Vaticanus also omits the entire verse of 1 Peter 5:3 but it is found in Sinaiticus and the Majority of all manuscripts and Bible translations - "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."

For more example like these see “Concrete Examples of what Vaticanus and Sinaiticus are Really like” here -

vaticanus-sinaiticus-facts

PROBLEMS WITH THE “MAJORITY TEXT” VIEW.

This “Majority” text idea is a very recent phenomenon. 

FIRST, No Bible in history was ever translated from the majority of Greek manuscripts, and it is a well known fact that multiplied thousands of Greek manuscripts were burned and destroyed through the early years of persecution and many others just wore out.  We don’t know what the true majority of manuscripts said simply because we do not have them; they no longer exist.

SECONDLY, the “Majority” view fails to take into consideration the existence of many ancient Bible translations into other languages like the Old Latin, the Latin Vulgate, the Gothic, Syriac, Georgian, Slavonic, Armenian, Ethiopic, the Coptic Boharic and Sahidic and the Diatessaron.

Many of these bear witness to readings that are not found in the “Majority” Greek text of today.

For example, the “Majority” text omits Acts 8:37 - 

Acts 8:36-38 "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Notice the direct question: "What doth hinder me to be baptized?") The next entire verse is omitted by many modern versions.

Acts 8:37 "AND PHILLIP SAID, IF THOU BELIEVEST WITH ALL THINE HEART, THOU MAYEST. AND HE ANSWERED AND SAID, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD."

Acts 8:38 "And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Phillip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."

Several people who believe this verse is inspired Scripture suggest that perhaps the reason many copies omitted this verse is because it teaches that as soon as a person confesses his faith in Jesus Christ he can be baptized with water, and it was soon put into practice that a person must wait for some time to “prove” that he really was going to continue in the faith before they would baptize him. And so this verse was removed from many copies.

The evidence in favor of including Acts 8:37 is quite massive. It is found in the Greek texts of Erasmus, Stephanus 1550, Beza 1598, Elzevir 1633 and Scrivener 1894. It is in manuscripts E, 4, 36, 88, 97, 103, 104, 242, 257, 307, 322, 323, 385, 429, 453, 464, 467, 629, 630, 913, 945, 1522, 1739, 1765, 1877, 1891, and others. 

• Acts 8:37 is in the Byzantine Greek text used by the Orthodox Greek Churches all over the world today.  Here is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
• http://onlinechapel.goarch.org/biblegreek/?id=4&book=Acts&chapter=8
•  
• It is also in the Modern Greek Bible and in the Modern Hebrew
• Bible.
• 
  

The whole verse is also found in Old Latin manuscripts from the textline that predates any Greek manuscripts we have, including the Old Latin texts of ar, c, dem, e, gig, h, l, m, ph, r, t, w. Even the notes in critical text editions tell us that this verse existed in the Old Latin copies, the Coptic Middle Egyptian version, the Ethiopic, Georgian, and Slavonic, Lamsa's 1933 translation of the Syriac Peshitta and Armenian early Bible versions. It is also found in the Latin Vulgate and the Clementine Vulgate.

Many church fathers who lived before anything we have in the way of Greek copies directly quote this verse, including Irenaeus 178 A.D., Tertullian 220, Cyprian died in 258, as well as Ambrosiaster 384, Ambrose 397, Augustine 430, and Venerable Bede of England in 735.

For example, Cyprian (200-258 A.D.) supports the inclusion of verse 36-37 Textus Receptus when he says, "In the Acts of the Apostles Treatise 12:3: Lo, here is water; what is there which hinders me from being baptized? Then said Phillip, If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest." (The Treatises of Cyprian )

Irenaeus (115-202 AD), Against Heresies 3.12: "Philip declared that this was Jesus, and that the Scripture was fulfilled in Him; as did also the believing eunuch himself: and, immediately requesting to be baptized, he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God."

Augustine (354-430 AD), Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament - Sermon 49: "The eunuch believed on Christ, and said when they came unto a certain water, See water, who doth hinder me to be baptized? Philip said to him, Dost thou believe on Jesus Christ? He answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Immediately he went down with him into the water."

Many well known theologians and other Bible commentators in times past have confessed their belief that Acts 8:37 is inspired Scripture and belongs in the Bible. Among these are John Calvin, Matthew Henry, John Gill, Theodore Beza, John Owen, John Dick, Charles Hodge, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Charles G. Finney, John Charles Ryle, Abraham Kuyper and Jonathan Edwards.  It is also quoted in the Westminster Confession, Chapter XXVIII, Of Baptism, Section IV.

If interested, see my article on Acts 8:37 here -

acts8372829.htm

THIRDLY, neither does the “Majority” text take into account the many Scriptural references and quotations we get from the writings of many early church fathers.

For example, 1 John 5:7 is the strongest verse in the Bible on the Trinity, yet many people like James White, John MacArthur, Dan Wallace tell us that the verse is not inspired Scripture and does not belong in the Bible.

1 John 5:7-8 KJB - "For there are three that bear record IN HEAVEN, THE FATHER, THE WORD, AND THE HOLY GHOST: AND THESE THREE ARE ONE. AND THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR WITNESS IN EARTH, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."  

1 John 5:7-8 - ESV, NIV, NASB - "For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood: and these three agree."

Even the Nestle-Aland Critical text tells us that the phrase "in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one? is found in several Old Latin texts and in some Vulgate manuscripts, and that it is so quoted by Cyprian 210-258 A.D.   et tres sunt, qui testimonium dicunt in caelo, pater, verbum et spiritus] (itc itdem itdiv omit in Christo Iesu) itl itm itp (itq omit et hi tres unum sunt in Christo Iesu) vgmss (Cyprian) (Ps-Cyprian) (Priscillian) Ps-Vigilius Cassian Speculum Varimadum Fulgentius Ps-Athanasius Ansbert mssaccording to Victor-Vita

Cyprian Treatise I On the Unity of the Church: and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, "And these three are one."[22]

JEROME tells us that certain Arian scribes were removing this section of Scripture from the Greek manuscripts.

Even more to the point is the testimony of Jerome on this matter. Jerome was commissioned by Damasus, the bishop of Rome, to prepare a standard Latin translation of the Holy Scriptures to replace the former Latin translations which had grown in multiplicity by the late 4th century. Jerome did this, utilizing the Greek as his source for revision of the Latin New Testament for his Vulgate.14 At one point in his work, JEROME NOTED THAT THE TRINITARIAN READING OF  I John 5:7 WAS BEING REMOVED FROM GREEK MANUSCRIPTS WHICH HE HAD COME ACROSS, a point which he specifically mentions. Speaking of the testimony of these verses he writes,

"Just as these are properly understood and so translated faithfully by interpreters into Latin without leaving ambiguity for the readers nor [allowing] the variety of genres to conflict, especially in that text where we read the unity of the trinity is placed in the first letter of John, where MUCH ERROR HAS OCCURRED AT THE HANDS OF UNFAITHFUL TRANSLATORS CONTRARY TO THE TRUTH OF FAITH, WHO HAVE KEPT JUST THE THREE WORDS WATER, BLOOD AND SPIRIT IN THIS EDITON OMITTING MENTION OF FATHER, WORD AND SPIRIT in which especially the catholic faith is strengthened and the unity of substance of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is attested."

Thus, we see that JEROME SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED THAT THIS VERSE WAS BEING REMOVED FROM GREEK MANUSCRIPTS IN HIS DAY.  Logically, we can suppose that for him to recognize the absence of this verse as an omission from the Greek texts, he must have been aware of Greek manuscripts which contained the Comma in the time of his preparation of the Vulgate for the general epistles (395-400 AD), a time much earlier than is suggested by the dating of currently known Comma-containing Greek mss.

The church Council of Carthage in A.D. 484 is highly significant.   Prior to this council, a conflict had arisen between the Arians and a group of bishops from North Africa.  An assembly was called at Carthage where I John 5:7-8 was insisted upon by Eugenius, the spokesman for the African bishops. The bishops included the Johannine Comma as a first line of defense for their confession of Christ's deity. Acting as spokesman for some 350 church bishops Eugenius confessed his faith and the faith of his brethren with these words: "...and in order that we may teach until now, more clearly than light, that the Holy Spirit is now one divinity with the Father and the Son. It is proved by THE EVANGELIST JOHN, FOR HE SAYS, "THERE ARE THREE WHICH BEAR TESTIMONY IN HEAVEN, THE FATHER, THE WORD, AND THE Holy Spirit, AND THESE THREE ARE ONE."

Victor of Vitensis, Historia persecutionis Africanae Prov, Translated by Michael Maynard in A History of the Debate Over 1 John 5:7-8.

Here is just a partial list of those who contended for the authenticity of this verse.

Cyprian - 250 AD, Athanasius 350 A.D., Priscillian -385 AD, Jerome 420 AD, Fulgentius (late 5th century), Cassiodorus, Isidore of Seville, Jaqub of Edessa, Thomas Aquinas, John Wycliffe, Desiderus Erasmus, Stephanus, Lopez de Zuniga, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, Cipriano de Valera, John Owen, Francis Turretin, John Wesley, John Gill, Matthew Henry, Andrew Fuller, Luis Gaussen, Frederick Nolan, Robert L. Dabney, Thomas Strouse, Floyd Jones, Peter Ruckman, George Ricker Berry, Edward F. Hills, David Otis Fuller, Thomas Holland, Michael Maynard and Donald A. Waite. 

What then is the textual evidence for 1 John 5:7?

It is found in several Greek texts - Erasmus, Stephanus, Beza, Elziever, Scrivener and Modern Greek Bible; it is quoted by several church fathers as Cyprian 250 AD, Athanasius 350 A.D., Priscillian -380 AD, Varimadum 380 A.D., Jerome 420 AD, Victor Vitensis 430 A.D., Fulgentius (late 5th century), Cassiodorus 580 A.D,  and is found in many ancient versions of the Bible including the Old Latin, the Latin Vulgate 382-405 A.D. and is found in some copies of the Syriac, Armenian, Georgian and Slavonic ancient versions. 

If interested, see my article on 1 John 5:7 here -

1john57.htm

And FOURTHLY, if we only have a Greek text to follow, then the person who has to TRANSLATE this text into English or any other language becomes in a very real sense their own authority for what the text actually means, and what the average Bible reader will often end up with is that person's particular slant, bias or misunderstanding.

By far, most of the some 40 theological errors I have found in the phony and inferior “bibles” on the market today are not textual but are translational errors.

See When the modern version promoter tells you that No Fundamental Doctrines Are Changed.

no-doctrines-changed 

God himself has born witness to the truth of the King James Bible in many ways, both internally from the text and externally from various circumstances in history. You can see some of these reasons here.

Reasons Why The King James Bible Is The Absolute Standard - God's Historic Witness to the Truth.

absolutestandard.htm