The Schofeild Bible's (1998 ed) footnote for this passage gives us the answer: "Verses 9-20 are not found in the two most ancient mss., the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. . ." They are claimed to be very relieble, but are they?
Sinaticus and Vaticanus disagree with about 90-95% of all known manuscripts, and they even disagree among themselves. Both have a long history of corruption and obscurity.
Omissions of Sinaticus and Vaticanus
Vaticanus omits:
a.) Everything from Genesis 1:1 to 46:28.
b.) Psalms 106-139
c.) All of First Timothy
d.) All of second Timothy
e.) All Titus
f.) All of Revelation
g.) All of Hebrews after Chapter 9:14 to the end of the book
h.) Our Lord's agony and blood like sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:43- 44
i.) Our Lord's prayer for his adversaries. Luke 23:34 "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do."
j.) Mark 16:9-20. There is a significant blank space in the manuscript where this passage would have gone, testifying for it's inclusion in the Bible.
k.) The story of the women taken in adultery John 7:53 - John 8:11"
l.) Heb 9:15 to the end of the book.
m.) 2 Kings 2:5-7, 10-13
Vaticanus adds the Apocrypha to the OT.
Sinaticus omits:
a.) John 5:4, 8:1-11
b.) Matthew 16:2-3
c.) Romans 16:24
d.) Mark 16:9-20 Again, there is a significant blank space where these verses should have gone.
e.) Acts 8:37
f.) 1 John 5:7
Sinaticus adds: The Epistle of Barnabas and The Shepherd of Hermas to the NT and the Apocypha to the OT.
Corrections of Sinaticus and Vaticanus
Sinaticus was corrected at least 15,000 times by multiple correctors. Most of these corrections were made in the seventh century, but some of these corrections were made as late as the twelfth century. (Sure sounds like the "oldest" reading, doesn't it?) The writing quality is very poor; many times words or whole phrases are repeated in succession. The original writing is completely written over in parts, and the original writer even corrected some of his mistakes. Vaticanus also shows very sloppy penmanship.
Yup, a very reliable sources you got there. :roll: