Mark 1:41

Mark 1:41

σπλαγχνισθείς (splancnisqei", “moved with compassion”) 

    External evidence: “Compassion” is the reading in nearly every manuscript. 

ὀργισθείς (ojrgisqei", “moved with anger”)

    External evidence: “Anger” is only in a few manuscripts: Codex Bezae (D), {1358}, and a few Latin mss (a ff2 r1*). These are primarily Western text type witnesses.

    Internal arguments: It is difficult to see any unintentional change happening with these words (they’re not spelled similarly.) An intentional change is possible, and it is more likely that scribe changed “anger” to “compassion” than “compassion” to anger.” It may not have been as palatable for early church to see Jesus as angry.

However, Jesus also gets angry in 3:5 and 10:14, but no textual variants are introduced. One could argue that it’s possible (but by no means likely) that scribes changed “compassion” to “anger” based on these other passages where Jesus grows angry or indignant.

Conclusion: One is difficult in this text, because the external evidence leans strongly towards “compassion,” but one can make a solid case for “anger” based on the narrative and logic of scribal practices. I think external evidence holds about as much weight as internal evidence, especially when unintentional changes can be predicted, or the author’s style points decidedly in one direction. Intentional changes can be risky to discern (unless it’s a variant of embarrassment or theological primitivity). This is possible here, but the external evidence may outweigh it.  

One would have to answer “why Jesus became angry,” and it could be the man’s lack of faith earlier in the story (v. 40). For the best arguments for ὀργισθείς, however, see M. A. Proctor, “The ‘Western’ Text of Mark 1:41: A Case for the Angry Jesus” (Ph.D. diss., Baylor University, 1999).