In the course of creating this collection of NFTs, I discovered a number of verses that are not present in the American Standard Version, the translation I used.
These verses are also not present in most modern translations of the Bible. How come?
According to bible scholars, and as seen on bibleref.com, this means that these verses are not found in the more accurate ancient manuscripts. You will find these “missing verses” in the King James Version.
Below is a list of the 5 verses found in the KJV, but not in the ASV. I encourage you to click these links to bibleref.com to read the specific reasons these verses were omitted. You will find in all cases, removing them hasn’t changed anything significant – the concept is either repeated in a previous verse, or is not relevant to any theology.
Click the verse names to go and read the details…
| MAT.17.21 | Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. |
| MAT.23.14 | Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. |
| ACT.28.29 | And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. |
| MRK.11.26 | But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your offenses. |
| ROM.16.24 | The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. |
Mark 11:26 sure sounds pretty important, right?!
Here is the info from bibleref.com….
This verse is not found in the more accurate ancient manuscripts. The New American Standard Version reads “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions,” but the verse is in brackets, showing that the translators don’t think it’s original. The sentiment is consistent with Scripture and found in Matthew 6:14–15, at the end of the Lord’s Prayer, and briefly in Luke 6:37. Nowhere else does Mark use the terms “heavenly Father” for God or “transgressions” for sin, so in the translations where it does occur, it’s probably copied from Matthew.
When Jesus says that if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven by God, He does not mean we will lose or forfeit salvation if we do not fully forgive every single person who wronged us. In fact, the “forgiveness” mentioned here is not about eternal salvation, at all. Rather, this is relational forgiveness. The parallel for this would be offending or sinning against one’s spouse, without asking for forgiveness. That would hurt a marriage relationship, and result in distance or separation, but not an utter end to that commitment.
Likewise, if we sin against God and do not ask for forgiveness, we do not lose our salvation. Our salvation is dependent on the work of Jesus, not our ability to remember every single sin and repent of them (Titus 3:5). However, sin does harm our relationship with God, interfering with our growth and His blessings. God designed us for community, honestly, and humility. If we sin against someone else without asking their forgiveness, we sin against God (Matthew 18:23–35). If we stubbornly refuse to forgive others, we’re not reflecting appreciation for the forgiveness we, ourselves, have received (Mark 11:25).