Textual variants in the Book of Revelation

Textual variants in the Book of Revelation are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced. An abbreviated list of textual variants in the Book of Revelation is given in this article below.

Most of the variations are not significant and some common alterations include the deletion, rearrangement, repetition, or replacement of one or more words when the copyist's eye returns to a similar word in the wrong location of the original text. If their eye skips to an earlier word, they may create a repetition (error of dittography). If their eye skips to a later word, they may create an omission. They may resort to performing a rearranging of words to retain the overall meaning without compromising the context. In other instances, the copyist may add text from memory from a similar or parallel text in another location. Otherwise, they may also replace some text of the original with an alternative reading. Spellings occasionally change. Synonyms may be substituted. A pronoun may be changed into a proper noun (such as "he said" becoming "Jesus said"). John Mill's 1707 Greek New Testament was estimated to contain some 30,000 variants in its accompanying textual apparatus which was based on "nearly 100 [Greek] manuscripts." Peter J. Gurry puts the number of non-spelling variants among New Testament manuscripts around 500,000, though he acknowledges his estimate is higher than all previous ones.

Textual variants
Revelation 1:5
 * λυσαντι ημας εκ ('freed us from') –, א $c$, A, C, 2020, 2081, 2814
 * λουσαντι ημας απο ('washed us from') – P, 046, 94, 1006, 1859, 2042, 2065, 2073, 2138, 2432

Revelation 1:6
 * βασιλειαν ('kingdom') – א, A, 046, 1854, 2050, 2351
 * βασιλεις ('kings') – P, Byz$A$

Revelation 2:1

Revelation 3:1

Revelation 4:1

Revelation 5:9
 * ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ ('redeemed to God') – A, eth
 * ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ ἡμας ('redeemed to God us') – 046, 1006, 1611, 1859, 2020, 2042, 2053, 2065, 2081, 2138, 2432, cop$bo$ א
 * ἠγόρασας ἡμας τῷ θεῷ ('redeemed us to God') – 94, 1828, 2073, 2344, cop$sa$
 * ἠγόρασας ἡμας ('redeemed us') – 2065*, 2814, Cyprian

Revelation 6:1

Revelation 7:1

Revelation 8:13
 * αετου – א, A, P$115$, 046, 1424, 1841, 1862, 93, 456, 627, 920, 1611, 2329, 2351, Byz, Philoxenian, Harklean, Vulgate, Old Latin, Boharic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Ansbert, Bede, Oikoumenios, Primasius, Caesarius, Tyconius
 * αγγελου – P, 2074, 104, 241, 256, 2059, 2081, 620, 922, 2186, 2286, 2814, Byz$A$, Armenian, Slavonic, Andreas, Victorious
 * αγγελου ως αετου — 42, Oikoumenios$comm$

Revelation 9:1

Revelation 10:1

Revelation 11:17
 * ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος — Boharic, Tyconius, Beatus, 1841, 051, 2074, 35, 1006, 911/2040, 1740, 469, 757
 * ο ων και ο ην και — P$47$, Sinaiticus, 0308, C, 2344
 * ο ων και ο ην — Byz, 2814

Revelation 11:18
 * τοις δουλοις σου και τοις προφηταις ('thy servants and prophets') –, א, 0308
 * τοις δουλοις σου τοις προφηταις ('thy servants prophets') – A, Byz

Revelation 12:1

Revelation 13:18
 * εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα εξ ('six hundred sixty-six') – א A P 046, most minuscules, Byz$pt$ lat syr cop arm eth Irenaeus Hippolytus Origen Victorinus Gregory Primasius Andrew Beatus Arethas
 * χξϲ ('666') – 051 Byz$pt$
 * εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα πεντε ('six hundred sixty-five') – 2344
 * εξακοσιοι τεσσαρακοντα εξ ('six hundred forty-six') – it$ar$
 * εξακοσιοι δεκα εξ ('six hundred sixteen') – C vg$ms$ Irenaeus$mss$ Tyconius$pt$ Caesarius
 * χιϲ ('616') –

Revelation 14:1

Revelation 15:1

Revelation 16:1

Revelation 17:1

Revelation 18:20
 * αγιοι αποστολοι — C, 051, 2329, 35, 2059, 2081, 2344, 2186, 2286, 2814, Vg$Cl$, it$gig$, Byz$A$
 * αγιοι και οι αποστολοι — Sinaiticus, A, P, 046, 1424, 1841, 1862, 82, 93, 456, 627, 920, 1611, 2074, 2053, 2062, Byz
 * αγγελου και οι αποστολοι — Hippolytus, syr$har$

Revelation 19:1

Revelation 20:1

Revelation 21:1

Revelation 22:14
 * ποιουντες τας εντολας αυτου ('those who do His commandments') – 046 94 205 209 1611$supp$ 1854 1859 2030 2042 2065 2073 2138 2329 2377 2432 2814 Byz it$gig$ syr cop$bo$ (Tertullian) Cyprian Tyconius (Caesarius) Andrew (Beatus) Arethas
 * τηρουντες τας εντολας αυτου ('those who keep His commandments') – arm
 * πλυνοντες τας στολας αυτων ('those who wash their robes') – א A 1006 1841 2020 (2050) 2053 2062 it$mss$ vg cop$sa$ eth Ambrose Apringius Fulgentius (Primasius) Haymo