All Things Are Possible If You Only Believe

DESCRIPTION: Each verse begins with a song phrase, such as "just trust him now," "keep on prayerin." "He'll be your father" ... followed by "only believe, only believe, all things are possible, if you only believe"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (Carawan/Carawan-AintYouGotARight)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious Jesus
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Carawan/Carawan-AintYouGotARight, p. 92, "All Things Are Possible If You Only Believe" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES [157 words]: The current description is based on the Carawan/Carawan-AintYouGotARight text. - BS
The reference here is probably to Mark 9:23, which in the King James Bible reads, "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." In the New Revised Standard Version, this becomes "Jesus said to him, 'If you are able! -- All things can be done for the one who believes.'"
The difference between the texts is not simply a matter of translation; the word "believe" is found in the Greek text translated in the King James Bible, but the three oldest Greek manuscripts (P45 Sinaiticus Vaticanus), and six of the earliest eight (also C* N* W; not A D) omit it, as well as several important later manuscripts (L 1 579 892 k). It pretty clearly was not part of the original text, but since it was in the King James Bible, it went into tradition. And there are partial parallels to the verse, such as Matthew 19:26. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.0
File: CarCa092

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