Redemption through his blood

Extol the Lamb of God,
The all-atoning Lamb;
Redemption through his blood
Throughout the world proclaim: 
The Year of jubilee is come;
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.
(Charles Wesley, No. 3, Hymns for New-Year’s-Day, 1750)

Poor Charles Wesley and his “ignorant” hymn writing. [i] Colossians 1:14 has a major variation between the King James Bible and modern translations based on the critical texts. “redemption through his blood” is in the King James translation, but not in the CSB, ESV, LEB, NASB, NET, NIV, RSV, et al.

• Colossians 1:14 KJV in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
• Colossians 1:14 NET in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I found the note in the NET Bible intriguing.

26 tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou haimatos autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule MSS (614 630 1505 2464) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 𝕸 latt co as well as several other versions and fathers. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

• Ephesians 1:7 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

“If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7?” Um… because they made a scribal error? Miscopied it? I realize the issue is more complicated than this, but it is mind-boggling to me that textual critics make and put weight in such an argument! Otherwise they are constantly and consistently arguing for scribal errors, and yet suddenly scribes could not have made an error here unless they also made an error in Ephesians 1:7? To quote President Biden, “Come on, man.” Who can believe this stuff?

Conversely, we might wonder, if a scribe were deliberately paralleling the statement in Ephesians, why didn’t he also add “according to the riches of his grace”?

This is not a critical answer to the critical text guys. Nevertheless, I am often bumfuzzled by the sorts of arguments that might satisfy them.

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[i] Colossians 1:14 in the John Wesley New Testament translation: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins: John Wesley was the brother of Charles Wesley.