Modern versions don't remove verses—they note where they don't appear in early manuscripts. When modern translations omit verses like Matthew 17:21—which appears only in the KJV—they do so because textual evidence suggests later copyists added it to align with parallel accounts, and modern translations note this omission in footnotes rather than silently removing it[1].
The distinction matters significantly. While most modern translations omit words or phrases that the KJV retains, the KJV itself occasionally omits material that other versions include[2]—meaning the conversation isn’t simply “modern versions removing verses” but rather different translations reflecting different underlying manuscript traditions.
Scholars systematically evaluate textual variants, grading each possibility with the highest-rated reading incorporated into the Greek text[1]. This transparency is crucial: modern translations explain omissions in footnotes, and if there were anything to conceal, this practice wouldn’t make sense[1].
The practical impact is minimal. No cardinal doctrine is altered by these variants, and textual critics agree that remaining uncertainties affect no material question of Christian faith and practice[1]. The leading textual controversies comprise well under one percent of the text, with manuscripts agreeing on the essential correctness of 99 percent of New Testament verses[1].
The KJV’s own revision history—those 1629, 1638, 1762, and 1769 updates—reflects the same principle: as knowledge improves, translations benefit from refinement. Modern versions simply extend this practice with greater transparency about why changes occur, grounding decisions in manuscript evidence rather than assumption.
[1] E. Johnson and Warner J. Wallace, Introducing Christianity to Mormons: A Practical and Comparative Guide to What the Bible Teaches (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2022), 60–62.
[2] D. A. Carson, The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), 58.
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