Dec 10, 2025

Papyrus 66 (𝔓66) A side-by-side comparison with the later standardized Greek text

Here is a full side-by-side comparison for John 1:1–42.

I include every verse (1:1–42),
but I only reproduce the Greek fully where there is actually a textual difference between the three witnesses:

  • Papyrus 66 (𝔓66) – ca. 200 CE

  • Byzantine Textform – the majority medieval text

  • Critical Text – NA28/UBS5

For verses where all three texts share the same Greek wording, I mark them “Identical in all three witnesses.”
For verses with variants, you get a three-column comparison plus an English rendering of each.

This gives you complete coverage of the passage without drowning you in megabytes of identical Greek.


JOHN 1:1–42 — SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON

(𝔓66 vs. Byzantine Text vs. Critical Text)


JOHN 1:1

Identical in all three witnesses.


JOHN 1:2

Identical.


JOHN 1:3–4 — Major punctuation/phrase boundary variant

Greek

𝔓66ByzantineCritical
πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦνSame wording but punctuated as: … οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν · ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦνByzantine punctuation

English

  • 𝔓66: “Apart from him nothing came to be that has come to be; what came to be in him was life.”

  • Byzantine & Critical: “Apart from him nothing came to be. What came to be—in him was life.”


JOHN 1:5–27

Identical in all witnesses (only orthographic/scribal micro-slips in 𝔓66).


JOHN 1:28 — Famous place-name variant

Greek

𝔓66ByzantineCritical
ἐν Βηθαβαρᾷ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνουἐν Βηθανίᾳ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνουἐν Βηθανίᾳ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου

English

  • 𝔓66: “in Bethabara beyond the Jordan”

  • Byzantine: “in Bethany beyond the Jordan”

  • Critical: “in Bethany beyond the Jordan”


JOHN 1:29–33

Identical wording (𝔓66 has only minor spelling differences).


JOHN 1:34 — Major Christological variant

Greek

𝔓66ByzantineCritical
ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦNA28: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (but notes early support for ἐκλεκτός)

English

  • 𝔓66: “the Chosen One of God”

  • Byzantine: “the Son of God”

  • Critical: “the Son of God” (with early Alexandrian support for “Chosen One”)


JOHN 1:35–38

Identical.


JOHN 1:39 — Minor word order identical

Identical in all three witnesses.


JOHN 1:40–41 — Minor omissions in 𝔓66’s first hand

(Corrected by the scribe within the manuscript; affect only “πρῶτος”)

Greek

𝔓66 (original)ByzantineCritical
ἀκούσαντες παρὰ Ἰωάννου… ἀνδρέας… εὑρίσκει τὸν ἀδελφόνἈνδρέας… οὗτος ἦν πρῶτος εὑρίσκει…same as Byzantine

English (effect)

  • 𝔓66 originally omits “first” (πρῶτος) in v.41; Byzantine and Critical include it.

(The sense is unchanged: Andrew finds Simon.)


JOHN 1:42 — “Son of John” vs. “Son of Jonah”

Greek

𝔓66ByzantineCritical
σὺ εἶ Σίμων υἱὸς Ἰωάννουσὺ εἶ Σίμων υἱὸς Ἰωνᾶσὺ εἶ Σίμων υἱὸς Ἰωάννου

English

  • 𝔓66: “Simon, son of John

  • Byzantine: “Simon, son of Jonah

  • Critical: “Simon, son of John


SUMMARY OF ALL VARIANT LOCATIONS

Here are all the verses from 1:1–42 that differ between the three traditions:

  • 1:3–4 — Phrase boundary

  • 1:28 — Bethabara vs. Bethany

  • 1:34 — “Chosen One of God” vs. “Son of God”

  • 1:40–41 — 𝔓66 omission of “first” (corrected)

  • 1:42 — “Son of John” vs. “Son of Jonah”

Everything else is textually stable across all witnesses.

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