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The '''Johannine Comma''' is a passage added to Latin translations of the New Testament about the [[Trinity]] added in the [[Middle Ages]]. The ''Johannine Comma'' does not appear in the earliest [[Koine Greek|Greek]] Biblical manuscripts.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=cIoPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22An+Historical+Account+of+Two+Notable+Corruptions+of+Scripture%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false</ref><ref>http://www.theopedia.com/Johannine_Comma</ref> "''Johannine Comma''" is Latin meaning a "short clause" appearing in the [[First Epistle of John (Translated)|First Epistle of John]].

The '''Johannine Comma''' (Latin: ''Comma Johanneum'') is a passage affirming the [[Trinity]] that appears in the [[King James Version]]. ''Comma'' means "short passage" in Latin. The passage, which many scholars have questioned, is given below, with the problematic portion in bold:

I John 5:7-8 in the King James Version reads, with the non-original parts added later in <span style="color:darkred">'''''red'''''</span>:

<blockquote>

:For there are three that bear record [<span style="color:darkred">'''''in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth'''''</span>], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

For there are three that bear record '''in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth''', the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.<ref>1 John 5:7-8 KJV</ref>

The words added in [[Koine Greek]], with the non-original parts added later in <span style="color:darkred">'''''red'''''</span> are:

KJV was translated from ''[[Textus Receptus]]'', a Greek published in the 16th century.<ref>The Greek reads:

<blockquote>ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες '''ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ Πατήρ, ὁ Λόγος, καὶ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἔν εἰσι. 8 καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ''' τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα, καὶ οἱ τρεῖς εἰς τὸ ἕν εἰσιν. (1 John 5:7-8)</blockquote></ref> Erasmus, the editor of this text, cited only one Greek manuscript of recent origin to support the passage. Here is the equivalent passage in the [[English Standard Version]], a modern translation based on the earliest known manuscripts:

<blockquote>

For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.<ref>1 John 5:7-8 ESV</ref>

:7 ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες [<span style="color:darkred">'''''ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ Πατήρ, ὁ Λόγος, καὶ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἔν εἰσι. 8 καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ'''''</span>] τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα, καὶ οἱ τρεῖς εἰς τὸ ἕν εἰσιν. (1 John 5:7-8)

Although the support for it is extremely weak in the Greek manuscripts, the readers of ''Textus Receptus'' expected this passage to be included because it is well-known from the [[Vulgate]]. The Trinity was the subject of great controversy in the 4th century, yet Johannine Comma is not cited by any Greek writer of that time.<ref name=Metzger> Bruce M. Metzger, ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament,'' (2nd ed. 1993) [http://www.bible-researcher.com/comma.html online]</ref> It first appears in the heretical Latin treatise ''Liber Apologeticus'' (4th century).<ref name=Metzger /> Here it given as a gloss of the text, not attributed to scripture. Moreover, the passage is not given in the earliest Vulgate manuscripts, Codex Fuldensis (541-546) and Codex Amiatinus (before 716).<ref name=Metzger />

However, a few argue that the Johannine Comma is indeed properly part of Scripture.<ref>[http://www.studytoanswer.net/bibleversions/1john5n7.html Defense of the Johannine Comma]</ref><ref>[http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/1john57.asp Is is true that 1 John 5:7 ... ?]</ref>  It is included in the King James English version; it is excluded in [[Martin Luther]]'s German translation.

*Newton, Isaac, ''[http://books.google.com.vn/books?id=cIoPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1&dq= An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture]''

* "[http://www.theopedia.com/Johannine_Comma Johannine Comma]", Theopedia

* [[Trinity]]

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