(1526 Tyndale) Belevest thou yt
ther is one God? Thou doest well. The devyls also
beleve and tremble.
Counterfeit Versions
(1881 RV) Thou believest that God is one; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and shudder.
(1901 ASV) Thou believest that God is one; thou doest
well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
(AMP) You believe that God is one; you do well. So do
the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as
make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of
his skin]!
(CEB) It’s good that you believe that God is one. Ha!
Even the demons believe this, and they tremble with fear.
(CSB) You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe — and they shudder.
(ESV) You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the
demons believe—and shudder!
(HCSB) You believe that God is one; you do well. The
demons also believe—and they shudder.
(NASV) You believe that God is one. You do well; the
demons also believe, and shudder.
(RSV) You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the
demons believe -- and shudder.
(NAB-Roman Catholic) You believe that God is one. You do
well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
συ πιστευεις οτι ο θεος εις εστιν καλως ποιεις και τα
δαιμονια πιστευουσιν και φρισσουσιν
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
συ πιστευεις οτι εις θεος εστιν καλως ποιεις και τα
δαιμονια πιστευουσιν και φρισσουσιν
Corrupted Manuscripts
None
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Reads “God is one“ instead of “there is one God”
Greisbach, Johann - 1805
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Hodges and Farstad - Majority Text 1982 as corrected in
1985
These 3 manuscripts are not critical texts but reads
“God is one”
Stephens 1550
Beza 1598
Elzevir 1624
Affected Teaching
Here is another case of a reversed meaning in the
English text. The King James Bible states that “there is one
God.” The Christian believes there is one God in three
persons which is a belief in the Tri-unity of the Godhead.
The nine modern versions listed above have the meaning
reversed. First, the way the modern versions have it
translated, it is stating that “God is one” which would deny
the Trinity. This is what caused the Jews to stumble when
Christ claimed to be the Son of the Heavenly Father, they
only believed in one God as one person. Secondly, when it
says “God is one,” does it speak as God being one with the
universe, being one person, one unity, one pantheon? “God is
one” leaves an open door for anyone to add some kind of
spurious ending and make it say what they want. “There is
one God” closes the subject because in the time James was
written, there were many false gods but James rejects those
gods by claiming that there is only one God, and no others.