Choose a passage below. Read its context, compare the two panels, then follow the KJB case and its strongest challenge. The modern-edition panel describes the reading; it is not a quotation. Open the publisher’s text to check the exact wording and notes.
6 comparisons · KJV alongside the named edition
1 John 5:7–8
The KJV names the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost. The NIV’s main text is shorter. It still has verses 7 and 8; its footnote records the longer reading.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Read the passage in context ↗NIV 2011, 1 John 5:7–8: the main text names the Spirit, the water and the blood; the heavenly-witnesses clause appears in a footnote.
shorter main textCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read 1 John 5:6–12. John discusses the testimony concerning the Son and the life God gives in Him.
Why the difference matters
The KJB explicitly names the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost in the testimony. The shorter main text does not contain that heavenly-witness clause. This is a substantial textual difference, not simply an older English word.
Reasons to retain the reading
The longer wording was used in Latin Christianity long before 1611. That history answers the claim that the KJB translators invented it. The detailed case follows the Latin witnesses, the disputed use by Cyprian and the later Greek record.
The strongest challenge
The longer clause has little support in surviving early Greek copies. Early Latin use establishes antiquity in that tradition, but does not by itself prove the wording of John’s Greek original.
Work through the question
Separate two claims in your notes: “the wording existed before 1611” and “John wrote the wording.” List the evidence needed for each.
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: John 10:30; Matthew 28:19 · KJB ↗
John 5:4
The ESV moves from verse 3 to verse 5 in its main text. Its footnote records the longer reading about the angel and the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
Read the passage in context ↗The ESV moves from verse 3 to verse 5 in its main text. Its footnote records the longer reading about the angel and the water.
verse in a footnoteCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read John 5:1–9, especially the man’s explanation in verse 7.
Why the difference matters
The KJB explains the reported stirring of the water before the man describes his difficulty reaching the pool. Without verse 4 in the main text, the reader encounters his explanation with less background. Jesus’ authority to heal is still clear in the surrounding account.
Reasons to retain the reading
Read how verse 4 connects verses 3 and 7 in the KJB. Its fit in the account is a reason to examine it carefully, alongside the received-text history. Context helps explain its meaning; it cannot alone establish which wording was first written.
The strongest challenge
A reader may argue that the longer wording began as an explanation added by a copyist. The manuscript evidence and the wording of the edition’s note must be examined before deciding between preservation and expansion.
Work through the question
Write what verse 4 contributes to the story. Then distinguish that observation from a claim about the earliest manuscript reading.
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: John 5:7–9 · KJB ↗
Acts 8:37
The NIV does not print verse 37 as main text. Its footnote gives the confession of faith and Philip’s reply.
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Read the passage in context ↗The NIV does not print verse 37 as main text. Its footnote gives the confession of faith and Philip’s reply.
verse in a footnoteCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read Acts 8:26–40. Follow the preaching about Jesus, the request for baptism, the confession and the baptism itself.
Why the difference matters
The KJB explicitly places belief with the heart and confession of Jesus as the Son of God before baptism. The NIV does not print that exchange in its main text; its footnote preserves it for the reader to examine.
Reasons to retain the reading
The linked study considers Irenaeus’s early use of the confession. It is evidence that the words were known long before the KJB. Compare that quotation with the verse and record how closely they agree.
The strongest challenge
The confession is absent from important Greek manuscript witnesses. A quotation’s early date does not automatically settle whether it belonged in every earlier copy of Acts.
Work through the question
Explain the KJB sequence in one sentence. Then give one historical reason for retaining the verse and fairly state the manuscript objection.
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: Romans 10:9–10 · KJB ↗
Matthew 18:11
The NIV does not print verse 11 as main text here. Its footnote points to the similar words in Luke 19:10.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Read the passage in context ↗The NIV does not print verse 11 as main text here. Its footnote points to the similar words in Luke 19:10.
omitted main text; footnote referenceCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read Matthew 18:10–14. Notice the little ones, the lost sheep and the Father’s will.
Why the difference matters
The KJB states the Son of man’s saving purpose directly before the lost-sheep illustration. The same saving purpose also appears in Luke 19:10; its survival there does not make the wording in Matthew unimportant.
Reasons to retain the reading
Read the verse as a bridge between the warning about little ones and the lost sheep. Then examine the linked study’s textual evidence for the received reading.
The strongest challenge
The alternative explanation is that a copyist brought familiar wording from Luke into Matthew. Similar wording in another Gospel can support a comparison, but cannot alone decide which explanation is correct.
Work through the question
Compare Matthew 18:11 and Luke 19:10. What does the shared teaching establish, and what question about Matthew remains?
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: Luke 19:10 · KJB ↗
Matthew 17:21
The NIV does not print verse 21 as main text here. Its footnote points to words similar to Mark 9:29.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Read the passage in context ↗The NIV does not print verse 21 as main text here. Its footnote points to words similar to Mark 9:29.
omitted main text; footnote referenceCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read Matthew 17:14–21 and Mark 9:14–29 in the KJB. Notice the disciples’ question and Jesus’ answer.
Why the difference matters
The KJB explicitly includes prayer and fasting in this instruction. The NIV omits Matthew 17:21 from its main text and directs readers to a related passage in a footnote. Compare Mark 9:29 in the same modern edition too.
Reasons to retain the reading
Study both Gospel accounts together. The received KJB readings connect dependence on God with prayer and fasting. The teaching deserves study in context rather than being reduced to a missing-verse count.
The strongest challenge
Critics explain the Matthew verse as an expansion from Mark. A second question concerns “and fasting” in Mark itself. These are related textual questions, so do not treat one reference as if it settled both.
Work through the question
Make two rows in your notes: Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:29. Record each edition’s main text and notes separately.
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: Mark 9:29 · KJB ↗
Mark 7:16
The NIV does not print verse 16 as main text here. Its footnote points to the words of Mark 4:23.
The NIV does not print verse 16 as main text here. Its footnote points to the words of Mark 4:23.
omitted main text; footnote referenceCheck the text and footnote ↗Read in context: Read Mark 7:14–23. Jesus calls the crowd to hear and then explains what defiles a person.
Why the difference matters
The KJB includes a direct call to listen between Jesus’ public teaching and the disciples’ private question. The NIV puts a reference to the familiar saying in its footnote rather than printing verse 16 as main text here.
Reasons to retain the reading
Compare the saying’s function here with Mark 4:23. The KJB’s repeated call to hear emphasizes attention and response to Jesus’ words. Read each setting before deciding how the repetition functions.
The strongest challenge
The same saying elsewhere could explain either an authentic repeated saying or a copyist’s addition. Repetition alone does not settle the manuscript question.
Work through the question
Write what listeners are being asked to hear in Mark 7. Then state what evidence, beyond a parallel verse, would support retaining verse 16 here.
Open the study and source record →Compare Scripture: Mark 4:23 · KJB ↗
Mark 16:9–20: the ending of Mark →
John 7:53–8:11: the woman taken in adultery →
Text panels are typeset illustrations, not photographs of historical Bible pages.