Why is Romans 16:24 missing in some Bible translations? The Textual Question in Brief Romans 16:24 appears in some English Bibles (e.g., KJV, NKJV, MEV) but is absent from many others (e.g., ESV, NIV, CSB main text). The issue is not whether Paul wrote a closing benediction—he clearly did in vv. 20 and 25-27—but whether a second, shorter benediction originally stood between v. 23 and v. 25. What Does Romans 16:24 Say? Berean Standard Bible footnote: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Later Witnesses and the Majority Text • Byzantine minuscules from the 9th century onward include v. 24 almost uniformly. • Codex Porphyrianus P (9th cent.) – first uncial to include it. • Later Vulgate copies, the Stephanus 1550 TR, and the 1611 KJV follow this Byzantine line. Reasons for Omission or Inclusion 1. Haplography is unlikely; nothing in the Greek line structure invites accidental loss. 2. The duplicated wording (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all”) mirrors 1 Corinthians 16:23; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 4:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18; Revelation 22:21. Scribes routinely harmonized endings, supplying familiar formulas. 3. Because Romans circulated early in two forms—one ending at 14:23 for congregations unfamiliar with the Roman household list, another with chapters 15-16—copyists sometimes adjusted benedictions when collating exemplars. Verse 20 already ends, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” A later scribe copying an exemplar that stopped at 16:23 may have wished to close with a grace formula and inserted v. 24. When fuller manuscripts later combined the two traditions, both benedictions stood, leaving the shorter one (v. 24) sandwiched between vv. 23 and 25. The Role of Textual Criticism and Divine Preservation Textual criticism does not sit in judgment over God’s word; it compares the rivers of manuscript witnesses to determine the earliest readable form God inspired (Proverbs 30:5). The overwhelming early attestation against v. 24 shows that the Holy Spirit preserved the authentic text across geographical families long before Byzantine harmonization arose. Consistency With Pauline Style Paul regularly adds a single grace wish at the end of a letter, not two (with 2 Cor counting the Trinitarian blessing as a developed form, not a second separate line). The dual-benediction pattern fits scribal conflation, not Pauline habit. Historical Citations From Early Church Writers • Origen (c. AD 200-254), Commentary on Romans – quotes vv. 23 and 25 sequentially, skipping 24. • Ambrosiaster (4th cent.) – commentary likewise moves from 23 to 25. These Fathers exhibit the text form without v. 24, confirming its absence in their exemplars. Translation Philosophy: Why Some Versions Retain the Verse The KJV and NKJV translate from the Textus Receptus, a 16th-century printed Greek text based mainly on a handful of late Byzantine manuscripts containing v. 24. Contemporary critical editions (NA28, UBS5, Tyndale House GNT) omit it, so most recent translations leave it out or bracket it. The prints a footnote to alert readers rather than obscure the variant. Conclusion: Trustworthy Text, Unshaken Gospel Romans 16:24 is missing in many modern Bibles because the earliest, widest, and most diverse manuscript evidence indicates it was not part of Paul’s original autograph but a later liturgical addition. The variation is minute, easily explained, doctrinally harmless, and a testimony to the remarkable transparency with which Scripture has been transmitted. “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8), and every believer can rest in the sufficiency and integrity of the God-breathed text. |
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