John 1:18 and Codex Washingtonensis.
The Joseph Smith Translation changed
this passage, re-creating a beautiful inverted parallel structure.
“And no man hath seen God at any time
except he hath borne record of the Son
for
except it is through him
no man can be saved
“Except” is used in both the
second and third lines and could be considered the key-word in the structure. Although
the balance of the structure is missing in available witnesses, Codex
Washingtonensis contains “except” (GK) in the second line exactly as
Joseph Smith placed it. (Wade Brown, A Textual Analysis of The Joseph Smith
Translation of the New Testament [Studies in the Scriptures 2; N.P.:
Research Publications, 1989], 76)
Here
is an image with commentary concerning the text of John 1:18 from Codex Washingtonensis
(c. A.D. 300-500):
