Yesterday I did an internet search on "communion liturgy." Here's where I landed. Good stuff. But, something there caught me by surprise. Ken advises us to avoid saying "this is my body, broken for you." The reason being textual and inter-textual evidence against the phrase "broken for you." Many manuscripts do not contain this phrase and Jesus fulfilled the OT type perfectly -- he was the sacrificial lamb without broken bones. So Ken recommends saying "this is my body, given for you" since that sounds better than "this is my body, for you." Not to mention Luke 22:19, which is a good verse to keep in mind.
Ken is in good company. Among the modern translations I regularly check (NAS, NIV, NAB, NET, NKJ, NLT, ESV, RSV, NRS) only one followed the reading of the KJV and that was the NKJ, which uses the same Greek as the KJV. Things don't look good for the "broken for you" phrase.
Still curious about it, I dug a little deeper. I can't tell you anything about the manuscripts Metzger mentions. I did, however, dig a bit into the Church Fathers. It looks like "broken for you" was part of some early (pre-nicene) writings and liturgies. I'm still not totally convinced that the phrase should be abandoned. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Here's some of what I dug up.
Metzger, Textual
Commentary on the NT
The
concise expression to.
u`pe.r u`mw/n, read by î46 a* A B C* 6 33 424c 1739* arm Origen Cyprian al, is characteristic of Paul’s style.
Attempts to explicate the meaning of the words resulted in the addition of
various participles: (a) qrupto,menon (Dgr*); (b)
klw,menon (ac
C3 Db, c G K P Y 81
614 1739mg Byz Lect itd, g syrp, h goth al),
derived from the preceding e;klasen; (c) dido,menon (vg copsa, bo eth Euthalius, it61
quod
tradidi pro vobis),
assimilated to Lk 22.19.
Constitutions Book
VIII Section ii
Being
mindful, therefore, of those things that He endured for our sakes, we give Thee
thanks, O God Almighty, not in such a manner as we ought, but as we are able,
and fulfil His constitution: “For in the same night that He was betrayed, He
took bread”3664 in His holy and undefiled
hands, and, looking up to Thee His God and Father, “He brake it, and gave it to
His disciples, saying, This is the mystery of the new covenant: take of it, and
eat. This is my body, which is broken for many, for the remission of sins.”
Pasted
from <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.ix.ix.ii.html>
Cyprian Epistle LXII
Moreover, the
blessed Apostle Paul, chosen and sent by the Lord, and appointed a preacher of
the Gospel truth, lays down these very things in his epistle, saying, “The Lord
Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had
given thanks, He brake it, and said, This is my body, which shall be given for
you: do this in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup,
when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do,
as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread
and drink this cup, ye shall show forth the Lord’s death until He come.”
Pasted
from <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf05.iv.iv.lxii.html>
Then
having broken bread He gave it to them saying, Take,
eat, this is My body broken for you for the remission of sins149 . Likewise also He took the cup of wine and
water and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it: for this
is My blood, the blood of the New Testament which is shed for you for the
remission of sins. This do ye in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this
bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the death of the Son of man and confess
His resurrection until He come150
Wherefore, I would
add, neither did He appoint the sacrament before this, but when henceforth the
rites of the law were to cease. And thus the very chief of the feasts He brings
to an end, removing them to another most awful table, and He saith, "Take,
eat, This is my body, Which is broken for many."
(Aloud.)
Take, eat.
The
Deacon: Pray earnestly.
The
Priest (aloud): For this is my body, which is broken for you, and divided for
the remission of sins.
The
People: Amen.
The
Priest prays: After the sam
Pasted
from <http://www.bible.ca/history/fathers/ANF-07/anf07-64.htm>
"The
bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the
world,"420 and when He delivered the divine mysteries
and broke the symbol and distributed it, He added "This is my body which
is being broken for you for the remission of sins,
The Deacons say:34 For
the remission of sins and life everlasting.
Then
he says aloud: Take, eat: this is my body, broken for you, and given for
remission of sins.
The
People: Amen.
Pasted
from <http://www.bible.ca/history/fathers/ANF-07/anf07-63.htm>
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