Romans 13:9

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Romans 13:9 "...Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Thou shalt not covet..."

The words "Thou shalt not bear false witness" (ου ψευδομαρτυρησεις ) are found in numerous manuscripts and ancient versions like the Old Latin ar, c, den, gig, z, the Syriac Harkelian, Coptic Boharic, Armenian, and Ethiopic.

They are also in Sinaiticus.

Vaticanus omits the words.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. — 2 Timothy 2:15

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't adding it bearing false witness? If you look at the evidence in the documentation, it is clearly included in the ‘oldest’ copies.  Even in their ‘beloved’ Sinaiticus.

And since it is also in the original 10 commandments in Exodus 20, the charge of bearing false witness falls squarely on the ones omitting it.

Does it really matter? Yes.  Yes it does.

Additional Documentation

Romans 13:9 "...Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Thou shalt not covet..."

The words "Thou shalt not bear false witness" (ου ψευδομαρτυρησεις ) are found in numerous manuscripts and ancient versions like the Old Latin ar, c, den, gig, z, the Syriac Harkelian, Coptic Boharic, Armenian, and Ethiopic.

They are also in Sinaiticus.

Vaticanus omits the words.

Reformation Bibles:

Wycliffe Tyndale Coverdale Matthew’s Bible Great Bible, Bishop’s Geneva Bible Douay-Rheims King James Bible Beza’s N.T.

Foreign Language Bibles French Martin Bible French Ostervald Spanish Reina Valera Italian Diodati Portuguese Almeida Corrigida y Fiel

The previous Douay-Rheims of 1582 contained all these words, saying: "For Thou shalt not commit adultery: Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness: Thou shalt not covet:"; BUT then the 1950 Douay omitted them followed by the St. Joseph NAB and the New Jerusalem bible. But now the 2009 Sacred Bible Catholic Public Domain Version has put them back in the text.

1599, Wesley's translation Mace N.T. Worsley N.T. Haweis N.T. Thomson N.T. Youngs New Life Version NKJV 1982 Third Millennium Bible 1998 The Koster Scriptures 1998 New Heart English Bible Resurrection Life N.T. 2005 God’s First Truth Modern English Version 2014 The Modern Greek Bible

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