Problem: Most translations of this verse read: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” But, the KJV (and the NKJV) read: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The KJV seems to imply that our condemnation is conditional based on our spiritual walk. Which is true?
Solution: The KJV is incorrect. This additional clause (“who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit…”) is not in the original manuscripts. It was added by a scribe. In textual studies, this is referred to as a dittograph. This is where a scribe looks down at a certain portion of Scripture that he is copying, and he repeats it (hence, “ditto”). In this case, the scribe probably lifted this clause from verse 4: “So that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4). This error was there in the text from the 6th century all the way to the 18th century.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Rom 8:!)”
