KFLCC / New Age Bible Versions - Gail Riplinger

oldest manuscript does not necessarily have the best text."i5 The weak character of the papyri is indicated below in E.W. Colwell's article, "Scribal Habits in Early Papyri: A Study in the Corruption of the Text." It notes the following: 1 6

•P66: Contains portions of the Gospel of John (900 errors in John)

200 nonsense readings 400 itacistic spellings 216 careless readings 482 singular reading 269 correctors 54 leaps forward; 22 backward

Pickering notes it has "Roughly two mistakes per verse."

•P75: Contains portions of Luke and John 145 itacisms 257 singular readings 27 leaps forward; 10 backward 57 careless readings

Pickering notes,".. .scarcely a good copy."

•P45: Contains small portions of all four Gospels. 90 itacisms

275 singular readings 20 careless readings

•P46: Contains some of John, Acts and Paul's epistles. Zuntz says, "Is by no means a good manuscript."

The errors in these ancient manuscripts are important to note, because liberal scholars hope to recast the bible in a mold closer to these manuscripts. Hamack writes of the "yet to be published" papyri. Comfort hopes:

It is my hope that future editions of the Greek text will incorporate even more of the readings found in the early papyri. . .Undoubtedly more Oxyrhynchus NT papyri will be published for the papyrologists have not yet worked their way through all the papyri discovered there. 1 ^