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.
1 John 5:7-8 KJV
For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
1 John 5:7-8 NIV
I grew up reading the KJV and used it in much of my early walk as a believer. I liked it and still enjoy reading it on occasion. But in the late 1970s, I began using the NIV, finding it much more readable.
But I was concerned, and confused, when I discovered that 1 John 5:7, a passage that provided strong support for the Trinity, was missing in the NIV. In place of this key verse was a footnote stating that the verse was found in late manuscripts of the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Greek text.
Was It Original?
So, was this verse included in what John wrote? Or was it an addition by a later scribe? The evidence seems to support it as a late addition and not in the original text.
The New American Commentary (NAC) on 1 John says that the missing text is found in only eight Greek manuscripts. And none of these are older than the 1400’s. In four of them, the text is included in the margin. And, as the NIV footnote said, the oldest manuscript support for this text is from copies of the Vulgate.
The NAC also comments that there is no mention of this text by the Church Fathers. This passage is never brought up in all the debates concerning the nature of the triune God. The councils of Nicea ( A.D. 325) and Chalcedon (A.D. 451) would surely have referred to it if it was known to the participants.
This in no way denies the truth of what this disputed passage says. Nor is it intended to be a negative reflection of the KJV. However, it does seem clear that the claims that the NIV and other modern translations have removed this passage for theological reasons are false. They do not include it because the evidence is overwhelming in favor of it being a late scribal addition rather than an original part of the text.
