Matthew 17:21
KJV Reading Defended
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
Many modern versions omit or footnote the verse because it is absent from a small group of witnesses.
Disputed unit
Presence of the whole verse: τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ.
Evidence assessment
The verse stands in Codex Ephraemi, Bezae, Washingtonianus, Regius, Monacensis, Sangallensis, Families 1 and 13 and the Byzantine tradition, with broad Latin, Syriac and Middle-Egyptian support, and Origen quotes it exactly in a third-century Commentary on Matthew. It is absent from the first hands of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, from Koridethi, and from several early versions.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Byzantine, Latin and Syriac support with third-century patristic quotation
King James Bible reading
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Evidence sources
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
Willker's selected Matthew apparatus, checked against the Münster-linked verse apparatus and, at Matthew 27:35, against a primary transcription. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
Earliest exact Matthew-specific patristic citation
Mid-third century — Origen, Commentary on Matthew 13.7, directly quotes the verse with prayer and fasting.
Earliest surviving Greek support: Late fourth–early fifth century — Codex Bezae (D); fifth century — Codices Ephraemi (C) and Washingtonianus (W).
Related early fasting-and-prayer tradition
Late third or early fourth century — the Pseudo-Clementine First Epistle Concerning Virginity preserves related fasting-and-prayer language, but the wording can reflect Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29, or a harmonized tradition and is not counted as an exact Matthew quotation.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
Presence of the whole verse
Matthew 17:21 is the overwhelming numerical Majority Text reading in the surviving Greek tradition.
Estimated Greek support: Approximately 1,650 to 1,700 Greek manuscripts
This is a conservative working estimate based on the published Majority or Byzantine designation and the approximate number of continuous-text manuscripts that preserve the book. Lacunae and collation scope make the exact denominator vary by verse.
Source scope and denominator
Willker's selected Matthew apparatus, checked against the Münster-linked verse apparatus and, at Matthew 27:35, against a primary transcription. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
Greek support in the cited corpus
10 named Greek witnesses plus Families 1 and 13 and the Byzantine tradition in Willker's apparatus
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
10 named Greek witnesses in Willker's apparatus
Lectionary evidence
1 lectionary manuscript listed as omitting; lectionary system supports inclusion
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
Represented
Printed editions
No entry listed
Complete source-scoped roster
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
Willker's selected Matthew apparatus, checked against the Münster-linked verse apparatus and, at Matthew 27:35, against a primary transcription. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.
KJV/TR unit: τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ
04 05 019 032 033 037 22 372 700 2737
Grouped evidence: Family 1 · Family 13 (most members) · Byz
Grouped evidence: broad Old Latin · Vulgate tradition · Peshitta · Harklean
mae-1 Bohairic-strand Armenian Georgian-B Ethiopic-TH
the verse with a different verb (ἐκβάλλεται / ἐξέρχεται)
01C 118 205 209 892mg
01* 03 038 0281 33 579 788 892* 1604 2680
e (VL2) ff1 (VL9) Sinaitic Curetonian Christian-Palestinian-Aramaic Sahidic Bohairic-strand mae-2
Georgian-A Ethiopic-manuscript L253
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.
Alexandria / Caesarea
Commentary on Matthew 13.7
Uses the prayer and fasting reading
Locator: Commentarium in Matthaeum 13.7
Open sourceFirst Epistle Concerning Virginity 12
Preserves fasting-and-prayer wording that may reflect Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29, or a harmonized tradition; it is not counted as an exact Matthew-specific quotation.
Locator: Two Epistles on Virginity, Book I, chapter 12
Open sourceAsia Minor
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Asterius for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceSpain
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Juvencus for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceGaul
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Hilary of Poitiers for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceCappadocia
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Basil of Caesarea for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceConstantinople
Homilies on Matthew 57.4
Direct quotation in Homilies on Matthew 57.4.
Locator: Homiliae in Matthaeum 57.4
Open sourceMilan
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Ambrose for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceBethlehem
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Jerome for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceNorth Africa
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Augustine for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 230, PDF p. 362; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceRoster distinctions
Evidence notes
Evidence assessment
The verse stands in Codex Ephraemi, Bezae, Washingtonianus, Regius, Monacensis, Sangallensis, Families 1 and 13 and the Byzantine tradition, with broad Latin, Syriac and Middle-Egyptian support, and Origen quotes it exactly in a third-century Commentary on Matthew. It is absent from the first hands of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, from Koridethi, and from several early versions.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Byzantine, Latin and Syriac support with third-century patristic quotation
Evidence represented on this page
References
Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.
Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew. TVU 230, PDF p. 362.
LaParola Münster-linked verse apparatus. Matthew 17:21 — lectionary 253 (dated 1020) listed as omission.
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.
Vetus Latina Gospel manuscripts register (ITSEE, University of Birmingham). Identity and physical date of the named Old Latin manuscripts.
British Library Archives and Manuscripts record, Curetonian Syriac (Add MS 14451). Physical date of the Curetonian manuscript, c. AD 450–470.
New Advent Fathers of the Church. Pseudo-Clement, First Epistle Concerning Virginity 12; Origen, Comm. in Matt. 13.7; Chrysostom, Hom. in Matt. 57.4.
Beth Mardutho, Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Dates the two Pseudo-Clementine letters on virginity to the late third or early fourth century.
Wieland Willker, study of Middle Egyptian mae-2 (Schøyen MS 2650). Identity and date of mae-2.
Tyndale Bulletin study of the Schøyen Middle Egyptian codex (mae-2). Orientation on the identity and early-fourth-century date of mae-2.