The words · 05 of 05 · One word in the bosom
God or Son
The Greek is either μονογενὴς θεός or μονογενὴς υἱός: only-begotten God, or only-begotten Son. Both sit in early books. Neither hides Him.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
μονογενὴς θεός / μονογενὴς υἱός
Majority, and the King James
The only-begotten Son, in the bosom of the Father.
The oldest papyri
The only-begotten God, in the bosom of the Father.
The two readings
01The Word was God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 18 is not the first time John spends this coin.
02The Word became flesh
We have seen His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father. μονογενής is already in the chapter before the copies split at 18.
03In the bosom
No one has seen God. The unique One, at the Father’s side, has made Him known. God or Son in that slot — the making-known does not move.
04The Son, given
He gave His only-begotten Son. John can say Son in the open. He does not need 1:18 to be the only place the word lives.
In these copies
- Son (υἱός): A, C³, Θ, majority, KJV, WEB, ASV
- God (θεός): p⁶⁶, p⁷⁵, Sinaiticus first hand, Vaticanus, BSB’s sense
Not in these copies
- neither reading is late-only
- the verse is in every copy
Read it this way
No one has ever seen God. Then comes the word the copies argue over. The oldest papyri, with Vaticanus, read μονογενὴς θεός — the only-begotten God, who is in the Father’s bosom, He has made Him known. The majority, and the King James, read μονογενὴς υἱός — the only-begotten Son.
This is not a missing verse. It is one word. θεός or υἱός. God or Son. Later church fights liked to pick a villain. The papyri are not a modern plot to make Jesus into God; they are among the oldest Greek we have, and they already say God. The majority reading is not a plot to demote Him; John has been saying Son since the first chapter, and 3:16 will say it in the open.
μονογενής (monogenēs) is the only one of a kind, the unique one. John 1:1 already said the Word was God. John 1:14 already said the Word became flesh. Verse 18 is the bosom, and the making-known. BSB tries to keep both senses on the English line. KJV keeps Son. Walk the word. Do not pick a conspiracy.
Some sayThey changed “the only begotten Son” into “God” — or they took God out. Pick a scandal.
The bosom is not empty. Son and God are both John’s words. The copies pick which one sits in this clause.
KJV
on the page
WEB
on the page
BSB
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ASV
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