Matthew 8:13

8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant ¹  was healed at that hour.

Matthew 15:28

15:28 Then ²  Jesus answered her, “Woman, ³  your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Mark 9:23

9:23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ ⁴  All things are possible for the one who believes.”

John 4:50-53

4:50 Jesus told him, “Go home; ⁵  your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home. ⁶ 

4:51 While he was on his way down, ⁷  his slaves ⁸  met him and told him that his son was going to live. 4:52 So he asked them the time ⁹  when his condition began to improve, ¹⁰  and ¹¹  they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon ¹²  the fever left him.” 4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time ¹³  Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household.

¹ tc ‡ Most mss read αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after “servant.” It is unlikely that the pronoun was accidentally overlooked by such diverse witnesses as א B 0250 0281 ˹ 33 latt. More likely is the probability that Western, Byzantine, and some other scribes added the word for clarification (so C L W Θ 0233 ˹³ Ï sy sa). NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

² tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

³ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

⁴ tc Most mss (A C³ Ψ 33 Ï) have τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (to ei dunasai pisteusai, “if you are able to believe”), instead of τὸ εἰ δύνῃ (to ei dunh, “if you are able”; supported by א B C* L N* Δ Ë¹ 579 892 pc). Others have εἰ δύνῃ (or δυνάσαι) πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe”; so D K Θ Ë¹³ 28 565 al), while still others have τοῦτο εἰ δύνῃ (touto ei dunh, “if you can [do] this”; so [Ì⁴⁵] W). The reading that best explains the rise of the others is τὸ εἰ δύνῃ. The neuter article indicates that the Lord is now quoting the boy’s father who, in v. 22, says εἴ τι δύνῃ (ei ti dunh, “if you are able to do anything”). The article is thus used anaphorically (see ExSyn 238). However, scribes could easily have overlooked this idiom and would consequently read τὸ εἰ δύνῃ as the protasis of a conditional clause of the Lord’s statement. As such, it would almost demand the infinitive πιστεῦσαι, producing the reading τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe, all things are possible…”). But the article here seems to be meaningless, prompting other scribes to modify the text still further. Some dropped the nonsensical article, while others turned it into the demonstrative τοῦτο and dropped the infinitive. It is clear that scribes had difficulty with the original wording here, and made adjustments in various directions. What might not be so clear is the exact genealogy of the descent of all the readings. However, τὸ εἰ δύνῃ is both a hard saying, best explains the rise of the other readings, and is supported by the best witnesses. It thus rightly deserves to be considered authentic.

⁵ tn Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

⁶ tn Grk “and left.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.

⁷ sn While he was on his way down. Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The 20 mi (33 km) journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description on his way down shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography.

⁸ tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

⁹ tn Grk “the hour.”

¹⁰ tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (komyoteron ecein) as “begin to improve.”

¹¹ tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.

¹² tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”

¹³ tn Grk “at that hour.”