The Use of Brackets in Scripture
It is not "adding to the Scriptures" to insert one word or more into the text if it is designated as not a part of the text. There are two ways of doing this: First by curved lines or marks of parenthesis, thus: ( ), as, for instance, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus (Saviour); for He shall save His people from their sins." The word "Saviour" does not belong to the text. Most papers use these characters; but they are not accurate, as there are marks of parenthesis in the Scriptures. Secondly, the SIGNS OF THE TIMES and other careful journals use brackets instead; thus: "The trumpet shall sound, and the [righteous] dead shall be raised incorruptible." See 1 Cor. 15: 51-54. The word "righteous" is not in the text, and the use of the brackets shows that it is not, so whether right or wrong in its use, it does not make it a part of the Scriptures. It was thrown in to note the fact that the dead there referred to are the righteous dead; for only the righteous dead will be "raised incorruptible." This is also shown in Rev. 20:6. The interjection of one's own words is not always best, but the use of brackets clearly distinguishes between the text and the explanatory word.