John 13:2b
WH NU τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας
“the devil already had it in his heart [i.e., had resolved] that Judas
would betray him [Jesus]”
(𝔓66 א2 L W Ψ 070 παραδω) א
B
njbmg nlt
variant/TR του διαβολου ηδη βεβληκοτος εις την
καρδιαν ινα παραδω αυτον Ιουδα
“the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray him
[Jesus]”
A Θ f1, 33 Maj
kjv nkjv rsv nrsv esv nasb niv tniv neb reb njb nab nltmg hcsb
Ιουδας is nominative in the earliest and best manuscripts, and genitive (Ιουδα) in later and inferior manuscripts. The
change to the genitive was intended to show that it was Judas’s heart, not the
devil’s heart, that was affected with the satanic design. But according to the
best manuscript evidence, this verse indicates that the devil decided in his
heart to instigate the actual events of betrayal at that moment. Judas had
already been in league with the devil and was ready to do his bidding (see
6:70–71). This idea is conveyed in nlt and njbmg; the rest of the English
versions follow the easier reading, which has inferior support. (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], 305)
