Question guide

Does 1 John 5:7 belong in the Bible?

Short answer

The Trinitarian wording in 1 John 5:7 is almost certainly a late Latin addition. It is absent from the early Greek manuscript tradition and entered the printed Greek text through the Textus Receptus line.

Key points

The disputed wording is often called the Comma Johanneum.
It is absent from the known Greek manuscript tradition before the late medieval period.
It became prominent through Latin transmission, Erasmus, the Textus Receptus, and the KJV.
Christian belief in the Trinity does not depend on this verse, because the doctrine is argued from broader New Testament evidence.

Evidence trail

Passage study: the Comma JohanneumShows which major witnesses omit the disputed wording.Claim rating: 1 John 5:7 belongsExplains why the wording is not treated as original.Transmission and critical editionsBackground on why printed Greek editions differ from later manuscript traditions.

Common follow-ups

Is the Comma Johanneum in the King James Version?

Yes. The wording is in the KJV because it entered the Textus Receptus tradition used by the translators.

Do modern Bible translations deny the Trinity by omitting it?

No. They omit or footnote this wording because of manuscript evidence, not because the translators reject Trinitarian theology.

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