TR has Lord God, Alexandrian stream has Christ.

If you consult Ezek 36:23, which speaks to the same events Peter is declaring, the KJV and even the ES and NASB all point to "Lord God", not Christ.

Ezek 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

There is a biblical method of putting to the test these "textual variants" and that being the method of Scripture interpreting/translating Scripture not unlike the method Tyndale used to correct his NT translation in English. Tyndale took the Hebrew citations found in the Greek manuscripts to render a better translation in English of God's Word. We can do the same for these "variants" by finding other areas of Scripture where the same timeline of events are spoken of.

For example:
KJV 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

NASB 1 Peter 3:15 but [fn]sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a [fn]defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and [fn]reverence;

Mike wrote:
That's quite true. Yet a perfect book would not declare that money is the root of all evil. It isn't.

Luke 16
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

15 And he said unto them, **Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God**.

There is the given definition of that money aka mammon being spoken of in Luke 16 as well as 1 Timothy 6.

The Pharisees and their ilk didn't serve God but did serve their own works of the law aka self righteousness and were the coveters which Paul was referring to when he wrote this.

1 Tim 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

John UK wrote:
St James, you ask:
"how would you explain to someone that Sodom, Egypt, and the great city as all being places where our Lord was crucified?"
I don't know how I would explain to someone that Sodom, Egypt, and the great city as all being places where our Lord was crucified?
How would YOU do it?

I Reread my post and I'm not sure how to restate it more clear other than to say I can see that the metaphoric definition has not been addressed through this deep dive discussion and should be.

John,
There is no problem with the translation of the term, but in order to arrive at
the definition God indented we must consider from the context, how the term was used.

Per the BLB here is the
Outline of Biblical Usage:

to stake, drive down stakes

to fortify with driven stakes, to palisade

to crucify

to crucify one

*metaph. to crucify the flesh, destroy its power utterly (the nature of the figure implying that the destruction is attended with intense pain)*

Now, if you consider a verse I made mention to you earlier, how would you explain to someone that Sodom, Egypt, and the great city as all being places where our Lord was crucified?

Rev 11:8

Rev 11:8 ....which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

John UK wrote:
I would not have considered the ability to refute those who preached salvation by law as a visible sign.
But if you regard the signs as "God working with them", confirming his word through the miraculous and visible signs, then that does make sense. cf. John 3:2

Isa 3:12
O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

That is who Paul is referring to here.

Rom 3:13... their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

And the OT as well....

Deut 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not.

These would be the same devils spoken in Mark 16.

Deut 32:28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

Deut 32:33
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

Jer. 46:22 said their VOICE shall go like a serpent.

So it would be their VOICE of lies which would be taken up which is likened to a serpent.

Remember Matt 13:34 said**without a parable spake he not unto them**:

Parable- a comparing, comparison of one thing with another, likeness, similitude.

Isa. 9:14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

Isa. 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Rev 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were **like unto serpents**, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Jer 46:22 The voice thereof shall go *like a serpent*;

Their voice is the voice of hired men or hirelings (see John 10 for a more clear definition.) and is figuratively described as a serpent.

Psalm 58:4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;

Verse 1 asks....o ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

No they didn't. The instead spoke lies.

Rev 9:19
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were **like unto serpents**, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Their tails are likened unto serpents. Power in their mouth, not God's Word.

Honest question.

2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Rom 10:17 says faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Fyi, I really had no notion one way or the other concerning Mark 16 when we started, I just never had taken time to look into it. I'm still not settled on it but the evidence seems to lead to a figurative understanding on "laying of hands".

Need to look more into it though. Thanks for the intriguing topic suggestion.

John UK wrote:
Peter said he had no money; however he gave him something even better - complete healing.

as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

But does describe the source here in this verse which speaks beyond a physical healing.

Verse 16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

So if we circle back to Mark 16, we agreed that the verses grammatically cause so many problems of interpretation because it points to those that believe. Seems to me that's due to a misunderstanding of what the act of laying of hands means. I'd agree with Docs and QC's thoughts if that was strictly to be understood in a literal sense but there's just too much figurative language elsewhere that paints a different picture. Here's yet another example...

2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

14But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

15And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

16And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

I think most believe Peter was talking about himself but that's not true. He was talking about the same man in Acts 3:6.

Something else to consider.

In Acts 8 we see what is the result of laying hands.

15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.