27:49

to save him: Some ancient manuscripts add: “Another man took a spear and pierced his side, and blood and water came out.” Other important manuscripts do not contain those words. A similar statement is found at Joh 19:34, but according to Joh 19:33, Jesus was already dead when this occurred. Most authorities, including the editors of the Nestle-Aland Greek text and the United Bible Societies Greek text, believe that the words of John’s account were later added to Matthew’s account by copyists. Even Westcott and Hort, who included these words in their Greek text in double brackets, stated that the sentence “must lie under a strong presumption of having been introduced by scribes.” Considering that there are different manuscript readings for Matthew’s account and that there is no uncertainty regarding the reading in John’s Gospel, the account at Joh 19:33, 34 evidently presents the events in correct order, namely, that Jesus was already dead when the Roman soldier pierced him with the spear. Therefore, these words are omitted in this translation at Mt 27:49.