| About | This book gives the main variant readings of the Greek New Testament. Since there are thousands of manuscripts of the NT, it is natural that there are differences between them, and it is not always easy to determine which was the original reading, even if the text of 99% of the verses is clear.
In this book, the variants of a verse, if they exist, are listed separated by an empty line. The text of the SBL Greek New Testament is always given first, and the alternative readings are on the following lines. Every reading is followed by the witnesses, that is the manuscripts that contain it.
The order for the witnesses is: papyri, uncials, families, minuscules, lectionaries, ancient versions, fathers, editions, and Italian translations.
Papyri: The manuscripts written on papyrus rather than parchment. They are indicated by a p with a superscript number.
Uncials: The manuscripts written with capital letters. They are listed with the Hebrew letter aleph (א), a capital letter (Latin or Greek) or a number that begins with zero.
Families: Two families of minuscules are listed: f1 (=1, 118, 131, 209, 1582) and f13 (=13, 69, 124, 174, 230, 346, 543, 788, 826, 828, 983, 1689, 1709).
Minuscules: The manuscripts written with lower case letters. They are listed by a normal number. Byz indicates the majority of Byzantine manuscripts; Byz2005 indicates the edition of Robinson in 2005 when it is different from previous editions.
Lectionaries: Lect indicates the majority of the lectionaries. Individual lectionaries are indicated by l and a superscript number. After the number, 'pt' (=part) indicates that the verses appears at least twice with different readings; 'm' indicates un lectionary in its Menologion (the readings for special days); 's' indicates a lectionary in its Sinaxarion (the readings for the liturgical year).
Ancient Versions: The translations of the New Testament done in the first centuries after Christ.
Fathers: The quotations of the Christian writers in the first centuries after Christ.
Editions: The other editions of the Greek text, when different from the SBL text, are indicated: the Textus Receptus (ς), the edition of Westcott and Hort (WH), the Nestle-Aland (NA), and the Editio Critica Maior (ECM). Some times the different editions of the Textus Receptus have different readings; in such cases the editions of Stephanus (1550) and of Scrivener (1894) are listed. Ten times the text of Nestle-Aland is different from that of UBS, once the editions of UBS are different, and once those of NA; these cases are indicated by NA and UBS and if needed a number indicating the edition.
Italian Translations: Eight translations are listed: the Nuova Riveduta (NR), the C.E.I. or Jerusalem (CEI), the Nuova Diodati (ND), the Riveduta/Luzzi (Riv), the Diodati (Dio), the Traduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (TILC), the Nuovissima (Nv) and the Nuovo Mondo (NM). When the NR or the Riveduta put an alternative reading in a footnote, it is indicated by an upperscript 'mg'. The aim is not to list all the different translations of these Bibles, but to indicate which manuscripts they followed. |
