Why Some Verses Differ Between Bible Versions

If you've compared Bible versions, you may have noticed that some modern translations omit, bracket, or change verses that appear in the King James Bible. This can cause confusion or doubt. Here's a plain explanation.

Two manuscript traditions

  • The King James Bible is translated from the Textus Receptus (Greek New Testament) and the Masoretic Text (Hebrew Old Testament) — the manuscript traditions preserved and used by the church for centuries, attested by the vast majority of existing manuscripts.
  • Many modern translations rely on the Critical Text, based heavily on a small number of manuscripts (such as Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus) that disagree with each other in thousands of places.

Verses that modern versions remove or bracket

Because of the manuscript choice, some modern versions drop or footnote verses that the King James Bible includes, for example:

  • Acts 8:37 — the Ethiopian eunuch's confession of faith
  • Mark 16:9-20 — the closing resurrection account
  • John 7:53-8:11 — the woman caught in adultery
  • 1 John 5:7 — the witness of the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost

Changed words: the example of "Lucifer"

In Isaiah 14:12, the King James Bible reads "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" Some modern versions replace "Lucifer" with phrases like "morning star" or "day star," which can blur the meaning of the passage.

God promised to preserve His Word

Scripture itself promises that God keeps His words safe:

  • "The words of the LORD are pure words... thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." (Psalm 12:6-7)
  • "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35)

This is why Bold Bible uses the King James Bible — to give you the full, preserved text without removed or weakened verses.

Want to dig deeper?

Ask Eli about any specific verse or manuscript question, or use Discern to compare a claim against Scripture. You can also long-press a word for Word Study to see the original language behind it.