FABRICATIONS · INTERPOLATIONS
Judgment on Towns Extended
...shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Some manuscripts omit the extended judgment statement in , which is also excluded in the NIV and ESV. This later addition likely served to intensify warnings against unbelief. Such modifications demonstrate scribes’ role in amplifying theological themes, raising doubts about the text's unaltered preservation over time.
THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
This additional warning echoes other places in Scripture where unrepentant cities face judgment. Scribes may have added a known statement to reinforce the seriousness of rejecting the Gospel. It doesn’t invent doctrine but stresses a central biblical truth.
THE ISLAMIC POSITION
If the earliest copies lacked this severe pronouncement, then scribes expanded Jesus’ message for greater impact. Such editing suggests the text wasn’t just copied but enhanced, raising doubts about its faithful preservation and the authenticity of its recorded words. How can the scribes know what will happen on the Day of Judgment to include it in the Bible?
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Judgment on Towns Extended