Textual variants in the Third Epistle of John

Textual variants in the Third 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. An abbreviated list of textual variants in this particular book 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
Insciptio
 * Ιωανου τριτη (Third of John) — אc Bc
 * omit — ‭א* B*
 * Ιωαννου τριτη επιστολη (Third Epistle of John) — 18
 * Ιωαννου επιστολη τριτη (Third Epistle of John) — rell

3 John 3
 * γαρ — A B C K P Ψ 048 049 056 0142 69 88 93 181 326 330 431 436 442 451 614 629 630 945 1243 1505 1739 1845 1846 1877 1881 2412 2492 𝔐 Lect itar syr copbo mss Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact
 * ουν — 1241
 * omit — ‭א 6 33 81 104 623 2127 2344 2464 2495 lat cop arm eth Cassiodorus

3 John 3
 * μαρτυρουντων — 𝔐
 * μαρτυρουν — B

3 John 4
 * χαραν — 1844c
 * χαριν — 1844*
 * εχω χαραν — 614
 * ουκ εχω χαραν — ‭א A K L P Ψ 048 049 056 0142 33 81 88 104 181 326 330 436 451 629 630 945 1067 1175 1292 1409 1505 1611 1735 1846 1852 1877 2127 2138 2344 2412 2464 2495 𝔐 Lect itar mg,p vgmss syr copsa arm eth geo slav (Cassiodorus)
 * χαραν ουκ εχω — C (69) 322 323 1241vid 1739 1881 𝑙$(422)$ 𝑙$596$
 * ουκ εχων χαριν — B*
 * χαριν ουκ εχω — 1243 2298
 * ουκ εχω χαριν — Bc 5 57 1891 2143 2298 2492 itar,c,dem,div,l vg copbo Hilary

3 John 4
 * τη — A B C* 33 81vid
 * omit — ‭א Cc P Ψ 1739 𝔐 copbo

3 John 5
 * τουτο — ‭א A B C Ψ 048 33vid 323 1241vid 1739 itl (vg) syr$h$ cop
 * εις τους — P 𝔐
 * τους — 81

3 John 7
 * ονοματος αυτου — Ψ 614 630 1846 2495 vgmss syr
 * ονοματος — rell

3 John 7
 * εθνικων — ‭א A B (C) Ψ 33vid 630 1505 1739 1881 itl Jerome
 * εθνων — P 𝔐 vg

3 John 8
 * υπολαμβανειν — ‭א A B C* Ψ 33 81 323 1739
 * απολαμβανειν — Cc P 𝔐

3 John 8
 * τη αληθεια — 𝔐
 * της αληθειας — 614 623 630 1505 itl vg
 * τη εκκλησια — ‭א* A

3 John 9
 * εγραψα τι — ‭א* A 048vid 442 1241 1739 2298 𝑙$596$ it(l) copbo mss arm (Jerome)
 * εγραψας τι — B copsa,bo mss
 * εγραψα αν — ‭אc 33 81 181 436 614 630 945 1067 1243 1292 1409 1505 1735 1881 2138 2344 2412 2492 𝑙$422$ 𝑙$1439$ lat (syr) Hilary
 * εγραψα αν τι — 322 323 424c 1611* 𝑙$1178$
 * εγραψα αυτη — 326c
 * εγραψα — C K L P Ψ 049 056 0142 69 88 93 104 326* 330 451 623 629 1175 1611c 1844 1845 1846 1852 1877 2127 2495 𝔐 Lect (eth) geo slav Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact

3 John 10
 * εκ — A B C 6 33 69 93 623 1845 1852 2344 𝔐
 * omit — ‭א 048 049 614 630 1243 1505 1739 2492

3 John 10
 * επιδεχομενους — C 323 1241 1243 1739 1881 2298 vgmss
 * βουλομενους — rell

3 John 11
 * κακοποιων — 𝔐
 * δε κακοποιων — L 1852 vgmss cop

3 John 12
 * αληθειας (truth) — p74(c) ‭א Ac B P Ψ 049 33 1739 𝔐 it vg syr$h$ cop
 * εκκλησιαις (church) — vid A*vid
 * εκκλησιαις και της αληθειας (church and truth) – C syrph,h mg

3 John 12
 * οιδας — ‭א A B C Ψ 048 33 81 323 614 1241 1739 itd vg syr$ph$ cop
 * οιδατε — P 𝔐 vgms syr$h$
 * οιδαμεν — 2143 copbo ms

3 John 13
 * σοι γραψαι — 048vid
 * γραψαι σοι — ‭א A B C Ψ 81 323 630 945 1505 1739
 * γραφειν — P 307 642 1175 2492 (2495) 𝔐

3 John 13
 * σοι γραφειν — ‭א B C
 * γραφειν σοι — A Ψ 048 0251vid 33vid 81 323 630 1241 1505 1739
 * σοι γραψαι — P 𝔐

3 John 14
 * σε ιδειν — A B C 048vid 5 33 81 323 436 1241 1243 1735 1739
 * ιδειν σε — ‭א P Ψ 307 442 642 1175 1448 1611 1852 2492 𝔐

3 John 14
 * λαλησαι σοι — 442 1735
 * λαλησαι — 81 itd vgmss
 * λαλησωμεν — 307 1243 vgms
 * λαλησομεν — rell

3 John 15
 * αδελφοι παντες — 1735
 * αδελφοι — A 33 81 436 642 syrph,h mg
 * φιλοι — rell

3 John 15
 * ασπασαι — ‭א 048vid
 * ονομα — rell

3 John 15
 * αδελφους — 436 1448 1611 syr$h$ copbo ms
 * φιλους σου — Ψ
 * φιλους — rell

3 John 15
 * ονομα αμην — L 307 321 378 467 614 1836 1837 1838 1852 vgmss
 * ονομα — rell