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Bible Question:
Why is Acts 8:37 not in the most modern translations?
Bible Answer:
Acts 8:37 reads as follows,
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And Philip said, “If you believe with all your
heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (NASB)
Acts 8:37
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This verse occurs in the middle of a section of scripture that
describes the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. This verse
has been either eliminated or retained with an explanation
that the verse does not appear in the best ancient manuscripts. The
verse did not occur in the earliest and best manuscripts
of the New Testament. The verse did not appear until about
500-600 A.D. in a manuscript now known as Codex Laudianus.
This passage was apparently inserted by a scribe who wanted
to explain why the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized. It is clear
from the rest of scripture the eunuch was
not saved by being baptized.
Scripture does not include
every word that was spoken by a person or between people. It
does not even try. If scripture did include everything the
Bible would be either huge or contain many volumes. Listen
to the apostle John,
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And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
which if they were written in detail, I suppose that
even the world itself would not contain the books which
were written. (NASB) John 21:25
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Scripture does not try to explain every detail and event. Scripture
seeks to communicate to us a message.
Conclusion:
You may also be interested in a study at this site entitled, "How
accurate is the Bible?"
It explains how we know which verses belong in the Bible. It
also explains why we can believe that modern Bibles accurately
reflect the original documents which were written by the prophets
and apostles. It is wonderful that our loving God did not leave
us with a Bible riddled with errors. God wants us to be able
to trust His Word.
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