James 2:19
NU εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός
“God is one”
𝔓74 א A
rsv nrsv esv nasb nltmg nab hcsb net
variant 1/WH εἷς θεος εστιν
“there is one God”
B 614 630 (C 33vid 81 with def. article before θεος)
kjv nkjv nasbmg niv tniv neb reb njb nlt
variant 2/TR ο θεος εἷς εστιν
“God is one”
Maj
The NU reading conforms to the prevailing formula of Jewish orthodoxy.
Westcott and Hort followed the reading in B, but this reading may be the result
of assimilation to 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 2:5. Most English versions follow
this reading because it provides for the smoothest style. (Philip W.
Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary: Commentary on the
Variant Readings of the Ancient New Testament Manuscripts and How They Relate
to the Major English Translations [Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., 2008], 727)
2:19 εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός (God is one) {B}
Among the several readings, the main difference consists of the
presence or absence of the article ὁ.
Between the readings εἷς
θεός ἐστιν (There is one God) and εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός (God is one), the second reading agrees
with the common Jewish orthodoxy of the time regarding the unity of God and has
very good manuscript support. The readings εἷς θεός ἐστιν and εἷς ὁ θεός ἐστιν appear to be changes made in order to
agree with the style of the Christian claim (compare 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim
2:5). The reading ὁ
θεός εἷς ἐστιν is the reading of the Textus Receptus and
is clearly a later reading in which ὁ θεός is placed first in
order to give ὁ
θεός a more emphatic
position.
There is little difference in meaning among these variant readings.
NRSV and NAB translate “You believe that God is one”; REB says “You … believe
that there is one God”; and NJB says “You believe in the one God.” The text
punctuates the words σὺ
πιστεύεις ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός (You believe that God is one) as a
statement, but some modern versions translate these words as a question: “Do
you believe that there is only one God?” (TEV, similarly TOB and FC). (Roger
L. Omanson, A Textual Guide to the Greek
New Testament: An Adaptation of Bruce M. Metzger’s Textual Commentary for the
Needs of Translators [Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006], 472)