Lord’s Library editors offer an Acts 28:29 meaning with commentary on why the verse is missing from new Bible versions, for your edification.
When trying to understand the meaning of Acts 28:29 and see why it’s missing in modern versions, first see the verse: “And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.” This verse appears in the King James Bible and provides a fitting response to Paul’s bold declaration in verse 28: “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
It shows the impact of Paul’s words. The Jewish listeners did not respond with faith, but with disagreement—a recurring theme throughout the Book of Acts. The verse affirms the pattern established in Acts: Paul preaches to the Jews, they resist, and the message goes to the Gentiles.
But in most modern Bible versions—including the ESV, NIV, and NASB—Acts 28:29 is completely omitted or reduced to a footnote that says something like, “Some manuscripts add verse 29.” Thus, a meaningful and contextually appropriate verse is cut out based on the editorial decisions of scholars who trust a minority of manuscripts over the majority witness of Scripture.
Acts 28:29 Missing Meaning
The justification for the omission comes from Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, the two 4th-century Alexandrian Manuscripts that also omit other verses. These codices form the backbone of the Nestle-Aland critical Greek text, which underlies nearly all modern translations. Because Acts 28:29 does not appear in those two manuscripts, it has been scrubbed from most modern Bibles.
Yet the verse is found in the majority of Greek manuscripts, as well as in early Latin, Syriac, and other ancient versions. It has been quoted by church fathers and included in the Biblical text for over 1,500 years without controversy—until modern textual critics decided that it probably wasn’t original.
But the theological and narrative implications of this deletion are significant. Without Acts 28:29, Paul’s closing confrontation with the Jews ends flatly. He makes a massive statement in verse 28—that the Gospel is now going to the Gentiles—and then the chapter immediately jumps to a general summary in verse 30 about Paul’s house arrest. The verse gives closure to the conflict and reinforces the broader message of Acts.
Removing Acts 28:29 does nothing to improve textual clarity. It creates a jarring transition as if Paul’s important words in verse 28 were met with silence, which is both unrealistic and untrue to the rest of the book. Wherever the text affirms doctrinal confrontation, judgment on Israel, or the progress of the Gospel to the Gentiles, modern editors are quick with the blade.
The King James Bible preserves Acts 28:29 because it follows the Textus Receptus, which is built on the manuscript tradition that God used through the centuries—the same tradition that fueled revivals, missionary movements, and Gospel preaching for generations. It doesn’t defer to the whims of scholars or the preferences of Vatican manuscripts.
So if your Bible skips Acts 28:29, you’re reading one that leaves out the Jewish response to Paul’s final words in Acts. One that softens the final rejection and conceals the truth that the Gospel was always meant to go to whosoever will.
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.”
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