Textual variants in the Second Epistle of John

Textual variants in the Second Epistle of John 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.

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 in the Second Epistle of John
Insciptio
 * Ιωανου δευτερα (Second of John) — אc Bc
 * omit — ‭א* B*
 * Ιωαννου επιστολη δευτερα (Second Epistle of John) — rell

2 John 2
 * ουσαν — 33 642 2344 cop
 * ενοικουσαν — A 048 1735
 * μενουσαν — rell

2 John 3
 * εσται γαρ μεθ’ ημων — 048
 * εσται δε μεθ’ ημων — 307
 * και εσται μεθ’ ημων — 2492
 * εσται μεθ’ ημων — א B P Ψ 0232 33 323 (614) 1241 1739 𝔐pt vgmss syr$ph$ copsa,bo mss
 * εσται μεθ’ υμων — 5 81 945 1735c 𝔐pt itl vgmss copbo mss
 * omit — A 630 1448 1505 1852 2464 2495 syr$h$

2 John 3
 * παρα — A B Ψ 048 0232 81 88 322 323 326 436 442 629 642 1067 1243 1409 1505 1735 1739 1846 1852 2127 2495 𝑙$596$ lat syrph mss cop$sa$ eth geo
 * παρα κυριου — ‭א$c$ K L P 049 056 0142 5 33 181 307 330 451 614 630 945 1175 1448 1844 1877 1881 2298 2344 2412 2464 2492 𝔐 Lect vgmss syr cop arm slav Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * κυριου — ‭א* 1292 1611 1881 2138 𝑙$680$ 𝑙$883$ 𝑙$884$
 * omit — 1505 2495 itl vg(mss) Augustine Cassiodorus

2 John 5
 * καινην γραφω σοι — Ψ 5 81 642* 1852 itl Augustinept
 * καινην γραφων σοι — ‭א A 33 69 323 442 614 630 642c 1241c 1243 1505 1611 1739 2344 2495 vg
 * γραφων σοι καινην — B P 436 1175 1448 1735 2492 𝔐
 * γραφω σοι καινην — 623 1241* 2464 Augustinept

2 John 6
 * η εντολη εστιν — A B K Ψ 0232 5 33 69 323 630 1241 1505 1611 1735 1739 1852 2344 2495 vg syr
 * εστιν η εντολη — P 048 307 436 442 642 1175 1243 1448 2492 𝔐 Lucifer
 * εστιν η εντολη αυτου — ‭א 1846

2 John 7
 * εξηλθον — p74 ‭א A B Ψ 0232 33 81 323 614 630 1241 1739 2495 vg syr cop$sa$ Irenaeuslat
 * εισηλθον — P 049 1175 1448 𝔐 cop$bo$

2 John 8
 * απολησθε — ‭א*
 * απολητε — 326*
 * απολεσητε — ‭אc A B Ψ 0232c 81 88 181 322 323 436 614 630 1067 1241 1409 1505 1611 1735 1739 1846 1852 1881 2138 2298 2344 2412 2464 2492 2495 𝑙$596$ 𝑙$884$ 𝑙$1439$ lat syr cop arm eth geo Irenaeus(lat) Lucifer Isidore Ps-Chrysostom Ps-Oecumeniuscomm John-Damascus Theophylactcomm
 * απολεσωμεν — K L P 049 056 0142 104 330 451 629 945 1175 1844 1877 2127 𝔐 Lect slav Hilary Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * απολεσομεν — 𝑙$603$
 * απολεσωσιν — 𝑙$883$
 * αποληθειτε — 326c
 * απολεσησθε — 1243

2 John 8
 * ηργασαμεθα — B* 049*vid 181
 * ειργασομεθα — 2492
 * εργασωμεθα — 𝑙$147$ 𝑙$603$
 * ειργασαμεθα — Bc K L P 049 056 0142 104 330 451 629 945 1175 1448 1844 1877 2127 𝔐 Lect syrh mg copsa mss geo slav Hilary Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * ειργασθε — 614 2412
 * ειργασασθε — ‭א A Ψ 048vid 0232vid 5 33 81 88 307 322 323 326 436 442 630 642 1067 1241 1243 1292 1409 1505 1611 1735 1739 1846 1852vid 1881 2138 2298 2344vid 2464 2495 𝑙$596$ 𝑙$884$ 𝑙$1439$ lat syr copsa ms,bo arm eth Irenaeuslat Lucifer Isidore Ps-Chrysostom Ps-Oecumeniuscomm John-Damascus Theophylactcomm

2 John 8
 * απολαβετε — 33 1292
 * απολαβητε — ‭א A B Ψ 0232vid 81 88 181 322 323 326 436 614 630 1067 1241 1243 1409 1505 1611 1735 1739 1846 1852 1881 2138 2298 2344 2412 2464 2492 2495 𝑙$596$ 𝑙$884$ 𝑙$1439$ lat syr cop arm eth geo Irenaeus(lat) Lucifer Isidore Ps-Chrysostom Ps-Oecumeniuscomm John-Damascus Theophylactcomm
 * απολαβωμεν — K L P 049 056 0142 104 330 451 629 945 1175 1844 1877 2127 𝔐 Lect slav Hilary Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * απολαβομεν — 𝑙$603$

2 John 9
 * προαγων — ‭א A B 048 0232 vgmss cop
 * παραβαινων — P Ψ 5 33 81 307 436 442 642 1175 1243 1448 1611 1735 1739 1852 2344vid 2492 𝔐 itl vgmss syr Lucifer

2 John 9
 * διδαχη — ‭א A B Ψ 048 33 81 322 323 442 1241 1243 1739 1846 1852 1881 2344 2464 𝑙$596$ itc,l vgmss syr$h$ copsa,bo mss arm Didymus Fulgentius
 * διδαχη αυτου — itdem,div,p vgmss syrph mss,h Lucifer
 * διδαχη του Χριστου — K L P 056 0142 5 88 104 181 307 326 330 436 451 614 629 630 642 945 1067 1175 1292 1409 1448 1505 1611 1735 1844 1877 2127 2138 2298 2412 2492 2495 𝔐 Lect itar vgmss syrph ms copbo mss eth geo slav Augustinevid Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * δικαιοσυνη του Χριστου — 𝑙$422$

2 John 11
 * insert after πονηροις: ecce praedixi vobis ut in diem domini nostri non confundamini — vgmss (Speculum)
 * insert after πονηροις: ecce praedixi vobis ut in diem domini nostri Iesu Christi non confundamini — vgmss

2 John 12
 * αλλα ελπιζω γενεσθαι — ‭א B Ψ 442 614 630 1243 1448 1505 1611 1852 2492 2495 vgmss syr$h$
 * ελπιζω γαρ γενεσθαι — A 048vid 5 33 81 323 642 1735 1739 2344 vgmss
 * αλλα ελπιζω ελθειν — P 307 436 1175 𝔐 itl vgmss syr$ph$ copsa,bo ms

2 John 12
 * υμων — A B 0142 5 33 81vid 322 323 436 442 1067 1243 1409 1739 1881 2127 2298 2344* 2464 2492 𝑙$422$ 𝑙$596$ 𝑙$921$ itl vgmss copbo eth slav
 * ημων — ‭א K L P Ψ 049 056 88 104 181 307 326 330 451 614 629 630 642 945 1175vid 1292 1448 1505 1611 1735 1844 1846 1852 1877 2138 2412 2495 𝔐 Lect vgmss syr arm geo Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * εμου — copsa
 * omit — 309 327 378

2 John 13
 * τοις εκλεκτοις — 1067
 * της εκλεκτης — ‭א A B P Ψ 33 81 88 104 322 323 1243 1409 1735 1739 1846 1881 2127 2298 2344 2464 2492 lat cop geo Bede
 * της εκλεκτης αμην — K L 049 056 0142 181 326 330 451 614 630 945 1175 1292 1505 1611 1844 1852 1877 2138 2412 2495 𝔐 Lect vgmss slav
 * της εκκλησιας αμην — 307 vgmss
 * της εκλεκτης η χαρις μετα σου — 442
 * της εκλεκτης η χαρις μετα σου αμην — 429 629 1758 1831 𝑙$596$ vgmss arm
 * της εκλεκτης η χαρις μεθ’ υμων — arm ethmss
 * της εκλεκτης η χαρις μεθ’ υμων αμην — syr ethmss Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * electe ecclesia — itp
 * της εκλεκτης της εν Εφεσω — 465mg
 * omit — 436