Why is Matthew 17:21 missing from the Bible?
Question
Why is Matthew 17:21 missing from the Bible?
AI
If you have noticed that verse 21 is missing from Matthew chapter 17, you are not alone—and you are certainly not imagining things.
Many people reading through the Gospel of Matthew discover that verse 20 is immediately followed by verse 22, with no verse 21 in between. It can feel unsettling at first. Did someone remove part of God's Word? Is this a printing error? Rest assured, this is neither a mistake nor a cover-up. In fact, it is evidence of careful scholarship aimed at preserving the most accurate text of Scripture.
1. What did verse 21 originally say?
In older translations like the King James Version (KJV), Matthew 17:21 reads:
"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21, KJV)
This verse appears in the context of Jesus explaining why His disciples could not cast out a demon. So why has it disappeared from modern Bibles?
2. What textual scholarship has revealed
The Bible was copied by hand for thousands of years before the printing press was invented. During this process, scribes occasionally added notes, explanations, or parallel passages from other Gospels into the main text.
• The earliest and most reliable manuscripts: Ancient manuscripts like the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus do not contain this verse.
• Connection to Mark 9:29: This verse is nearly identical to Mark 9:29. Scholars believe a later scribe copied it from Mark into Matthew.
• The addition of "fasting": Interestingly, even in Mark 9:29, the word "fasting" appears to be a later addition not found in the earliest manuscripts.
3. Does this mean the teaching is wrong?
Not at all. The importance of prayer is emphasized throughout Scripture. The question is simply whether this specific verse was part of Matthew's original writing. Modern Bible translators strive to give us the text closest to the original, so they either remove later additions from the main text or include them in footnotes.
4. Why keep the verse numbers as they are?
The verse numbering system was created in the 16th century, using manuscripts that included this verse. When later research showed it was likely added by scribes, changing the entire numbering system would have caused worldwide confusion. So the number was kept, but the verse itself was removed or noted.
Rather than being troubled by the missing verse number, consider this: it actually demonstrates how honestly and carefully the Bible has been preserved. Scholars continue to study ancient manuscripts to ensure we read God's Word as accurately as possible. The "missing" verse is not a sign of corruption—it is a sign of integrity.
