Revelation 13:10

Revelation 13:10 eivj aivcmalwsi,an( eivj aivcmalwsi,an u`pa,gei {B}

The epigrammatic style of the saying has perplexed the scribes (and interpreters!). The reading eivj aivcmalwsi,an( eivj aivcmalwsi,an u`pa,gei (A vg Ps-Ambrose) best accounts for the origin of the others. The absence of one of the two instances of eivj aivcmalwsi,an, although rather widespread (î<sup>47</sup> a C P 046 1006 1611 2053 al), appears to be the result of accidental oversight in transcription. The absence of a verb with the first clause prompted various copyists to attempt to improve the text by adding either avpa,gei (616 1828 1854 1862 1888 2322 it<sup>gig, (ar)</sup> vg<sup>mss</sup> syr<sup>ph, h</sup> al) or suna,gei (2059 2081 Arethas, followed by the Textus Receptus), or by altering the construction to aivcmalwti,zei (94 104 459 2019). The reading e;cei aivcmalwsi,an u`pa,gei (051 and about 130 minuscules), which can scarcely be translated, must be regarded as a scribal blunder (e;cei being written instead of eivj); it is thus a further development of the second reading mentioned above î⁴⁷ al).