1. Understand where textual variants come from
Hand copying any document is not easy! And remember, the printing press wasn’t invented until the 1400s. The handwritten copies of the New Testament which God has left us contain all the types of copying errors any honest hand-copier would make. Some were accidental, as when one’s eye skips from one line to a similar word in the next line, leaving out what is in between. Some were intentional, as when a difficult idiom or word order or spelling was smoothed out. Sometimes explanatory marginal notes were incorporated into the text by a subsequent copier because he thought the previous copier had accidentally left them out. Sometimes words from a familiar statement in one Gospel were added to that statement in another Gospel. Each change was included in all the subsequent copies made from that manuscript. These differences between the Greek manuscripts are called “textual variants.”
2. All these manuscript variations have been identified and cataloged
Many unsung heroes over the centuries have toiled over the thousands of Greek manuscripts and other writings in multiple languages. Textual scholars have analyzed every minute detail in all the copies. As a result our New Testament is far more reliable than any other document of antiquity. The details of their work are contained in our Greek New Testaments in footnotes which list the significant variants and detail the manuscripts that contain them. Click here for more detail on the history of our Greek text.
3. It is OK not to care
These textual details are not important to the average Bible reader. You may even ignore the subject and simply enjoy whatever Bible version you prefer. This is a perfectly acceptable choice. But you will profit by having a general understanding of what this subject is all about. And if you ever desire to know more about it, the laborers have been in the field for centuries. And their work is available for public examination.
4. You probably have encountered one in your studies
Sometimes a textual variant lies behind a translation difference you notice between one version and another. Sometimes a whole section is included in one version and omitted in another. Often you will see a note on a verse that says “Some manuscripts say…”. This is pointing to a textual variant. Perhaps you have heard your pastor speak about a passage where manuscript differences are important.
5. Now you can see them for yourself in the New Testament TransLine
You have not been able up to now to see these textual variants in English. But the New Testament TransLine displays them for you. As you examine them in detail you will see that most make little if any difference to the meaning of the verse. But some are important, such as Mk 16:8-20 and Jn 7:53-8:11. And some will help you understand a difference between English translations such as the NKJV and the NIV. And some will deepen your understanding of the verse. Over 3000 textual variants are noted in the New Testament TransLine, providing you a full and accurate picture.
6. Scholars have rated their perceived certainty on each textual variant
You can now see their opinion about each variant in the notes of the New Testament TransLine. The ratings come from the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament committee. Their ratings are based on the manuscript evidence, a theory for weighing that evidence, knowledge of errors common to copyists, and an analysis of the context. The rating gives you the committee’s opinion as to which reading they think is most likely to have been the oldest, the one from which the others proceeded. Read more details on what the ratings mean in the Introduction of the New Testament TransLine.
7. There are limits to how much an English reader can understand
The Greek sources must be studied in order to truly understand what lies behind a rating and decide whether you agree with it. Since the English reader cannot do so, that part of the matter must be left with others. However, you as an English reader can indeed see and understand what the variants are. You can observe their potential significance to the meaning of the verse. You can ponder their importance to your understanding of what God has said. And frankly, this is the most interesting part of the subject.
8. There are other opinions about how to rate the variants
Other scholars use a different theory to weigh the manuscript evidence. It results in readings more in keeping with the KJV. It is not the place of the New Testament TransLine to endorse any good-faith effort used to produce the best possible Greek New Testament. Nor to express its own opinion regarding any variant. It simply presents the textual facts for the reader’s consideration. The UBS Greek text is the clearest starting point for this purpose.