Why is Mark 9:44 omitted in some Bible translations? Mark 9:44—Understanding the Apparent Omission Canonical Setting and Parallel Statements Mark 9:42-50 records Jesus’ warning that it is better to lose a limb than to perish in Gehenna. Verse 48 states, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” . Verses 44 and 46, in the King James Version and other translations based on the traditional Greek Textus Receptus, repeat exactly the same sentence found in verse 48. Most modern English versions omit verses 44 and 46, or bracket them, and number the passage 9:43, 45, 47, 48. Early Patristic Echoes No undisputed ante-Nicene father quotes Mark 9:44 or 9:46, but they cite Isaiah 66:24 (the same wording) freely. Origen (d. c. 254) quotes verse 48 but never the double refrain. The presence of the wording in verse 48 means patristic silence on 44/46 is weighty evidence that the repetition was absent from their copies. How and Why Did the Repetition Arise? 1. Scribal Harmonization. Matthew 18:8-9 includes “into everlasting fire” without the Isaiah refrain. A later scribe may have imported the refrain from verse 48 back into verses 44 and 46 to create a rhetorical triplet. 2. Liturgical Reading. Byzantines often inserted marginal notes for public reading; lectionaries show a preference for repetitive refrains for congregational response. In time those marginal cues became part of the running text. 3. Copyist Assumption of Omission. Knowing Mark’s fondness for triads, a scribe encountering the solitary verse 48 may have assumed earlier copyists accidentally dropped two identical lines (parableptic homoeoteleuton) and “restored” them. In the providence of God, the Church still possesses both early and later witnesses, allowing textual scholars to distinguish original wording from well-meaning expansions without jeopardizing any doctrine. Translation History • Textus Receptus (1516-1550) included the expanded reading on the basis of late medieval Greek manuscripts available in Western Europe. • KJV (1611), NKJV, and MEV follow the TR, so they print verses 44 and 46 without note. • The critical editions of Westcott-Hort (1881), Nestle-Aland/UBS, and now the Tyndale House Greek New Testament omit the verses, citing the earliest manuscript testimony. • Berean Standard Bible, ESV, NIV, CSB, NASB 2020, and others move vv. 44 and 46 to a footnote or bracket them, usually explaining: “Early MSS do not contain this verse.” Inerrancy, Inspiration, and Preservation 1. Inspiration concerns the original autographs. God breathed out every word of Mark’s original text (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21). 2. Preservation involves God’s providential care through thousands of copies. The very existence of textual variants demonstrates scribes did not collude; they faithfully transmitted the text they had, mistakes and all, leaving transparent evidence for modern comparison. 3. Inerrancy is maintained because the true wording is still in the manuscript tradition. Careful, reverent textual criticism—employing reason under Scripture’s authority—recovers that wording with over 99% certainty. The remaining 1% of variants are peripheral, never touching a single Christian doctrine. Practical Ministry Application When sharing Christ with skeptics who question Bible reliability: • Acknowledge openly that honest differences appear in the manuscript tradition. Transparency builds credibility. • Show that the overwhelming manuscript wealth (over 5,800 Greek NT MSS plus early versions and quotations) allows cross-checking unlike any other ancient text—Homer’s Iliad has barely 1,800 partial copies. • Emphasize that textual variants typically involve spelling, word order, or obvious expansions like Mark 9:44/46; they do not alter the message of salvation by grace through faith in the resurrected Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). • Use the variant itself as a Gospel bridge: “Jesus took hell so seriously that even copyists felt compelled to repeat His warning.” Then pivot to the atoning cross and the empty tomb as God’s rescue from that judgment. Conclusion Mark 9:44 (and 9:46) is absent from the oldest, widest geographical spread of Greek manuscripts and early translations. The verses most likely entered the text through later scribal repetition of the Isaiah refrain that already appears, unquestionably authentic, in verse 48. Recognizing this does not diminish Scripture’s authority; rather, it showcases God’s meticulous preservation, allowing today’s Church to read, study, and proclaim the unaltered Gospel with confidence. |
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