Lord’s Library editors offer an Acts 24:7 meaning with commentary on why the verse is missing from new Bible versions, for your edification.
When trying to understand the meaning of Acts 24:7 and see why it’s missing in modern versions, first see the verse: “But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,” This verse appears in the King James Bible as part of the false accusation leveled against Paul by Tertullus, the hired orator of the Jewish leaders during his trial before the Roman governor Felix.
In this context, the Jews are portraying Paul as a public menace, and they blame Lysias—the Roman chief captain—for interfering with their attempt to deal with Paul. Without verse 7, the narrative jumps awkwardly from verse 6 to verse 8, where Tertullus suddenly calls on Felix to examine Paul directly, with no mention of Lysias or how Paul ended up in Roman custody.
In modern versions like the ESV, NIV, and NASB, Acts 24:7 is completely omitted, and often a portion of verse 6 and part of verse 8 are modified or excluded as well. What results is a broken and confusing account that removes a key historical detail and compromises the flow of the prosecution’s argument.
Acts 24:7 Missing Meaning
The justification for this omission is the familiar claim. Something like: “The earliest and best manuscripts do not contain this verse.” This means Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, 4th-century Alexandrian Manuscripts that form the foundation of the modern critical text (Nestle-Aland/UBS). These two codices omit Acts 24:7, and so modern translators—placing much trust in this corrupt textual tradition—remove the verse entirely, or footnote it as “not found in the oldest sources.”
The majority of Greek manuscripts include Acts 24:7, along with the Old Latin and Syriac traditions. The verse is preserved in the Received Text and has been included in virtually all historical Bibles up through the 19th century.
From the theological perspective, Acts 24:7 is not controversial, but its removal is telling. Why delete a verse that simply recounts Roman intervention? Because it doesn’t appear in two manuscripts? That’s the flimsiest of reasons. In reality, its absence breaks the logic of the narrative. In the King James Bible, the Jews say they were handling Paul, and then Lysias intervened with great violence and took him away.
That’s a consistent and historically plausible claim—even if it’s false and self-serving, as all legal accusations are. But in the modern Bibles, Paul is arrested with no explanation, and the link to Lysias’ intervention is gone. It diminishes the narrative’s coherence and, more broadly, reflects a pattern of destructive minimalism in modern textual editing.
When verses are routinely cut, bracketed, or footnoted, readers are trained to question rather than believe. And that’s exactly what Satan has wanted from the beginning: “Yea, hath God said?” The omission of this verse—alongside others like Acts 8:37, 15:34, and so many in the Gospels—can be seen as textual impurity.
The King James Bible includes Acts 24:7 because it comes from the Textus Receptus, based on the manuscript tradition.
We leave you with Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19:
- Deuteronomy 4:2: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
- Revelation 22:18-19: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Lord's Library is a Christian resource hub. Our editors use a variety of internet research methods like search engines, audio and video, AI, consultations with ministry leaders in the field, and more. Lord's Library should never be a substitute for reading your Bible daily as the Scriptures are to be our final authority on all matters. Lord's Library participates in affiliate programs. We may make a small commission from products purchased through this resource.
- Acts 4:12 Meaning: Commentary on a Key Bible Verse - July 14, 2025
- Acts 2:38 Meaning: Commentary on a Key Bible Verse - July 14, 2025
- Acts 2:21 Meaning: Commentary on a Key Bible Verse - July 14, 2025
