Matt. 17:20-22

Matt. 17:20-22 (traditional text)

The omission of Matthew 17:21
is undoubtably yet another Haplography error, but the excuse for it is
so slim that the variant almost defies classifying, and we must leave
about an 80% chance of pure fatigue and incompetance as the real cause:

πιστιν ως κοκκον σιναπεως ερειτε τω ορει
τουτω μεταβηθι εντευθεν εκει και μεταβησ-
εται και ουδεν αδυνατησει υμιν
τουτο δε το γενος ουκ εκπορευ-
εται ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια
αναστρεφομενων δε αυτων εν τη γαλιλαια
ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους μελλει ο υιος του
ανθρωπου παραδιδοσθαι εις χειρας ανθρωπων

...faith the size of a mustard seed, you'll say to
this mountain, `Move from there,' and it will move
out; and nothing will be impossible to you:
this kind however, does not go
out if not by prayer and fasting."
And while they were gathering
together in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
"The Son of Man is going to be delivered
into the hands of men;

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Include Verse 21: All the rest...Byz Maj (Majority of MSS), etc.

Omit: א, B Θ 33 892(txt) it-e/ff1 Syr-C/S/Pal Cop-Sa/Bo(mss) Eth(mss) Geo Euseb.

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What can be said? The ancestor of Aleph/B is again guilty of a blunder.
The haplographic features are a poor excuse, but not non-existant.

Hort, Nestle, UBS all omit the verses, ignoring the vast quantity of
evidence for early existance and authenticity. Fasting and prayer are
not an exciting prospect for most people, even those friendly to the
Gospel message.

Most 'modern' versions follow the opinion of the critical editors over
the tradition of actual Christian use for nearly 2000 years.

Another verse slides down the slippery slope into the margin, perhaps
to disappear like other wounded soldiers cast off by generals more
concerned with abstract battles than physical realities on the ground.

By the way, if the master-copy our errorist used had dropped 2 redundant KAI's from the previous lines (a very common practice with the Alexandrians), the column width would work out perfectly, although this isn't really necessary, since right-side text-justifying wasn't standard till the 3rd/4th century, with narrower columns.

  ........................................πιστιν ως
  κοκκον σιναπεως  ερειτε  τω ορει
  τουτω μεταβηθι εντευθεν εκει  μετ
  αβησεται ουδε αδυνατησει υμιν
  τουτο δε το γενος ουκ εκπορευετ
  αι ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια
  ανα στρεφομενων δε αυτων εν τη
  γαλιλαια ειπεν αυτοις ο IΣ  μελλει
  ο ΥΣ  του ανθρωπου παραδιδοσ-
  θαι εις χειρας ανθρωπων...


Note that new similarities in beginning and ending of lines also appear.  This would be enough to generate the omission, which could then migrate to other MSS with a different text (i.e. with the "KAI"s still in place).

- Mr.Scrivener