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Oldest & Best Manuscript Evidence Database

Acts 8:37

The Ethiopian Eunuch's Confession

KJV Reading Defended

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Why the KJV Reading Is Retained

Modern critical editions omit the verse from Acts, while the KJV/TR includes the baptismal confession.

Disputed unit

Whole-verse presence at ECM unit 2-44↓, followed by six internal wording units. Presence alone is not exact agreement with the complete KJV/TR form.

Doctrinal variantComplex evidenceLatin supportPatristic supportNot majority Greek support

Evidence assessment

The selected ECM Acts corpus contains 37 Greek entries with the verse in some form and 49 that omit it, with Byz grouped under omission. Internal wording varies; 808C alone matches the complete Scrivener/TR combination across every displayed internal unit.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Corrected Greek state 808C, with broader Greek, Latin and patristic presence evidence

King James Bible reading

Acts 8:37 in the King James Bible

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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Evidence sources

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.

Governing apparatus and count scope

The current digital ECM Acts apparatus. Counts describe the named reading states displayed in its selected corpus; Byz remains an unexpanded group.

Full witness information

Earliest KJV-supporting evidence

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

c. AD 180 — Irenaeus. Irenaeus witnesses to the eunuch’s confession centuries before the printed Textus Receptus.

Earliest surviving Greek support: c. AD 550–650 — Codex Laudianus (E), in a variant form.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Corrected Greek state 808C, with broader Greek, Latin and patristic presence evidence

The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.

Source scope and denominator

The current digital ECM Acts apparatus. Counts describe the named reading states displayed in its selected corpus; Byz remains an unexpanded group.

Greek support in the cited corpus

1 exact TR state; 37 states contain the verse in some form

Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus

49 named omission states plus Byz

Lectionary evidence

Lectionaries are listed against the verse

Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot

  • P45
  • P74
  • Codex Sinaiticus (01)
  • Codex Vaticanus (03)

Evidence represented on this page

Greek manuscripts

Represented

Ancient versions

Represented

Church fathers

Represented

Printed editions

Represented

Complete source-scoped roster

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.

Apparatus and roster scope

The current digital ECM Acts apparatus. Counts describe the named reading states displayed in its selected corpus; Byz remains an unexpanded group.

Greek support in cited scope
1 exact TR state; 37 states contain the verse in some form
Greek competing evidence in cited scope
49 named omission states plus Byz
Evidence classification
Corrected Greek state 808C, with broader Greek, Latin and patristic presence evidence

Whole-verse presence and omission

KJV/TR unit: Acts 8:37 present in the complete TR form

Exact complete TR intersection

Supports the KJV/TR form

808C

The first-hand state [808*] omits.

Verse present in a non-exact or internally varied form

Related or qualified evidence

08 88C 94 103 180 307 323 429 453 467 522 607 610 629 630 636 876 945 1501 1509 1609 1642 1678 1704 1735 1739 1751 1832 1884 1891 2200 2298 2805 2818 L1178 L1825

Grouped evidence: Ir L:50.51.54.56.57.58.67.70.72.73> K:M S:Hᴬ

Verse omitted

Competing reading

P45 P74 01 02 03 04 044 5 33 61 81 88* 181 431 436 441 614 619 621 623 915 996 1162 1175 1270 1292 1297 1409 1490 1505 1595 1611 1729 1827 1831 1838 1842 1890 2138 2147 2344 2412 2495 2652 2718 L60 L1188 L2010 [808*]

Grouped evidence: Byz · L:V:189> K:SB G Sl Chrys S:Ph Ä

Church Fathers and literary witnesses

Precisely located citations and additional names reported by the controlling apparatus are kept separate. An apparatus-level attribution is not presented as an independently verified exact quotation.

Irenaeus

c. AD 180

Against Heresies 3.12.8

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

The eunuch confessed, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.

Locator: INTF record 1569; SC 211, 214.4

Open source

Irenaeus

c. AD 180

Against Heresies 4.23.2

Supporting witnessCitation type: Allusion

Allusion in Against Heresies 4.23.2. Latin.

Locator: SC 100, 696.50, INTF record 3171

Open source

Cyprian

c. AD 250

North Africa

Apparatus-level attribution

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Quotes the condition for baptism: If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.

Locator: INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Acts, Acts 8:37; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Pacian of Barcelona

c. AD 370

Spain

Apparatus-level attribution

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Uses the eunuch's confession tradition

Locator: INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Acts, Acts 8:37; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Ambrose

c. AD 380

Milan

Apparatus-level attribution

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Uses the eunuch's confession tradition

Locator: INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Acts, Acts 8:37; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Augustine

c. AD 400

North Africa

Apparatus-level attribution

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Uses the eunuch's confession tradition

Locator: INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Acts, Acts 8:37; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Chrysostom

c. AD 400

Homilies on Acts 19.1

Competing witnessCitation type: Textual comment

Textual comment in Homilies on Acts 19.1.

Locator: INTF record 9363; PG 60, 150.28

Open source

Roster distinctions

  • GA 104 omits the verse in the official transcription.
  • GA 1739 contains the verse in its main text, not merely in a margin.
  • Lectionaries are divided: L1178 and L1825 include; L60, L1188 and L2010 omit.

Evidence notes

Important distinctions in the evidence.

  • GA 104 omits the verse in the official transcription.
  • GA 1739 contains the verse in its main text, not merely in a margin.
  • Lectionaries are divided: L1178 and L1825 include; L60, L1188 and L2010 omit.

Evidence assessment

Why the KJV reading is retained

The selected ECM Acts corpus contains 37 Greek entries with the verse in some form and 49 that omit it, with Byz grouped under omission. Internal wording varies; 808C alone matches the complete Scrivener/TR combination across every displayed internal unit.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Corrected Greek state 808C, with broader Greek, Latin and patristic presence evidence

Evidence represented on this page

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

GreekRepresented
LatinRepresented
Other versionsRepresented
FathersRepresented
Printed editionsRepresented

Separate evidence category

Printed editions and reception history

Printed editions are presented apart from handwritten manuscripts and ancient versions. Edition-group summaries appear first; named supporting and competing editions then follow chronologically.

Edition evidence for both readings

Sources for the dates and readings in this section

Catalogued records

1

Named / aggregate

1 / 0

Date span

AD 1592

WitnessDate rangeNotes

Clementine Vulgate

Named witnessPrinted edition		AD 1592

Contains the verse

References

Editions and works cited.

  1. Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.

    New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room

  2. Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.

  3. Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.

    The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018

  4. Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.

  5. INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Acts. Acts 8:37.

    Open source

  6. INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata

    Open source

  7. INTF Patristic Citations database

    Open source

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Acts 8:37: The Ethiopian Eunuch's Confession | Oldest & Best