Punctuation

Do you think punctuation in a sentence is important? Let's see.....

My three favorite things are eating my family and not using commas.

Well, I guess that answers THAT question.

Punctuation is VERY important when trying to relate a thought or a concept to someone in writing.

Did you know that in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, there were no vowels or punctuation at all? It's true. No spaces between Greek words in the New Testament, or punctuation either. And no verse numbers or headings anywhere in the any original text. Parchment was hard to come by so every square inch counted, I guess.

It wasn't until the Masorites - ancient Jewish scholars - that punctuation was added. That happened between 700 and 1000 AD.

When the New King James Bible was first published in 1611 there were still no quotation marks. There STILL aren't to this day. So how do we really know who said what?

I bring all this up because of one Bible verse - John 3:13

Jesus was talking with Nicodemus about being born again and who is in heaven. Here is the present day New King James Version of John 3:13:

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

There is a quotation mark preceeding this verse (back in verse 10 of the NKJV). That would seem to indicate that Jesus said these words. But the KJV still has no quotation marks at all. Read the verse again. It almost sounds as if the Apostle John himself was commenting on who is in heaven.

Remember, there were no quotation marks in The Bible until 1600 years after John wrote all this, and after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension.

"SOMEONE" decided when and where they thought quotation marks were used. It wasn't John. And they were way smarter than me.

So, what does all this mean? Pay attention when you read the Bible. Analyze it. Look at all the footnotes and subscripts. She what was changed and when. And pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read.

We should seek the truth above all else. And Jesus IS the truth.

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." - Acts 17:11-12

How Was Biblical Puncuation Decided? - Christianity.com