In our church Bible studies this week, we looked at John 8:1-10, which chronicles the story of the woman apprehended "in the very act of adultery." I'm not going to spend time today dealing with the various curiosities within this pericope. But I want to make an observation about the entirety of the the narrative.
That observation is that these verses appear in a variety of formats in the several English translations that I consult. Some versions have these verses in brackets [ ]. Others present the story in italics. Some have verses 1-2o in a smaller font. Yet others omit the reading from the body of the text altogether and include it as a long footnote. In each case, there is a footnote that says something like "these verses are not contained in the oldest manuscripts" or "some ancient authorities omit these verses."
When these notes are pointed out, that observation confuses some people, and even threatens a few. Many church folks understand scripture to be static, being written in a particular place and a specific time, then being preserved unchanged forever. Even a brief look at much of the Old Testament and the New Testament demonstrate that this is just not the case.
I am kind of heartened by such an example. The idea that scripture has an aspect of being a living, breathing, adapting thing helps accentuate its relevance to me. It has the exact opposite effect than being threatening or confusing or faith-opposing.
So, thank you, biblical translators, for presenting the content and the intent of The Word of God.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
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