The question
Read and compare
Read Matthew 18:1-14 in the KJB. Look at the ESV footnote for verse 11. Then read Luke 19:1-10 in both editions.
Evidence
The KJB wording
Matthew 18:11 in the KJB says that the Son of man came to save what was lost. The nearby verses speak about little ones and a shepherd seeking a lost sheep. The sentence fits that subject. This supports the case for it, but does not prove by itself that Matthew first wrote it.
Read Matthew 18 in the KJB →Evidence
The publisher’s reason
The ESV gives the verse’s words in a footnote about differences between copies. The main text goes from verse 10 to verse 12. Keeping those numbers lets readers notice the missing verse and check why it is in a note.
Read the Matthew 18 footnote →Evidence
Check the wider claim
Luke 19:10 says that Christ came to seek and save the lost in both the ESV and KJB. So the missing verse in Matthew does not prove that this teaching was removed from the whole ESV. We may still argue that the verse belongs in Matthew. That claim needs evidence about Matthew itself.
Compare Luke 19:10 →The strongest challenge
Could someone have copied this saying into Matthew from another Gospel? That is one suggested explanation. A saying can be true without belonging at every place where someone might put it. Its place in Matthew needs its own evidence.
What the evidence supports—and what remains open
We keep the KJB wording. But the claim that the ESV removed Christ’s saving mission fails this test: the teaching is still in Luke. Whether Matthew first wrote verse 11 is a separate question.
Follow the evidence
What does the evidence show?
No score and no forced answer. Use the sources above to weigh the claim.
- Check the source. Read the linked passage or record in context. Note its edition, date and language where relevant.
- Test the explanation. Compare the strongest challenge with what the source actually shows. Which point does it support, and which point needs more evidence?
- Choose your next step. Record the question you still need answered below, then follow a source or the next related study.
Your study notebook
What do you think—and what is still unclear?
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