Why is 1 Chronicles 25:30 missing from most Bible translations? 1 Chronicles 25:30—Why the Verse Seems to Disappear Canonical Setting and Text “He, his sons, and his brothers—twelve—for the twenty-third, to Mahazioth.” (1 Chronicles 25:30, Berean Standard Bible) The sentence is the penultimate listing in David’s roster of twenty-four musical guilds (1 Chronicles 25:9-31). Its presence completes the mathematically and theologically important pattern of 24 courses (cf. 1 Chronicles 24:18; Revelation 4:4). Verse-Numbering Traditions Hebrew scribes inserted the same sǝtûmoth (minor breaks) between each lot. When medieval Jewish versifiers added numbers, each lot received its own verse. Later English printers sometimes merged two contiguous Hebrew clauses into a single English verse if no new nominative appeared, yielding a count of 30 verses instead of 31. Modern editors normally revert to the Hebrew numeration. Thus: • KJV, NASB, ESV, CSB = 31 verses, separate 25:30. • Older RV1995, some early NIV printings, select Catholic lectionaries = 30 verses, combining Hebrew vv. 29-30 under a single English 25:29 and jumping straight to 25:31. The wording is still there—only the number “30” is absent. Printing and Typesetting History The Bishop’s Bible (1568) accidentally fused the Mahazioth line with the preceding Giddalti line. The Geneva Bible (1599) followed suit, and several 19th-century stereotype plates inherited that fusion. When the original NAV (New American Version, 1941) and some early RSV settings followed the older plates, readers thought a verse had vanished. Modern critical editions (e.g., Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 1983; Biblia Hebraica Quinta 2021) prove that it never left the text. Why Some Digital or Pocket Editions Hide the Number Digital API routines often key off the verse breaks in the 1901 ASV; if that source file merges vv. 29-30, the front-end interface shows “29” twice (once as a-line, once as b-line) and suppresses “30.” The same occurs in a few printed pew Bibles that abbreviate repeated phrases for space. Theological Relevance of Retaining 24 Lots 1. David models order for temple worship; the twenty-four courses foreshadow the twenty-four elders around God’s throne (Revelation 4:4). 2. Deleting Mahazioth’s clan would leave only twenty-three courses, disrupting the deliberate numerical symbolism that ties Davidic worship to heavenly reality. 3. The intact list reinforces the doctrine of verbal preservation: “The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace” (Psalm 12:6). Practical Takeaway for the Student When a verse number appears missing, check (1) whether its content has been merged with the previous verse, and (2) whether the translation’s preface explains its versification scheme. The Word itself has not been lost; only the number shifted. Selected Christian Resources for Further Study Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; The NET Bible Full Notes on 1 Chronicles; “Old Testament Textual Criticism” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary-Revised; J. Hampton Keathley III, “The Preservation of the Old Testament.” |
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