Matthew 18:11

The Son of Man Came to Save

KJV Reading Defended

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Why the KJV Reading Is Retained

Modern critical texts omit the verse, while the KJV/TR retains it in Matthew.

Disputed unit

Three states: the exact KJV wording, a Luke-expanded form adding ζητῆσαι καί (“seek and”), and omission.

Short omitted phraseMajority Greek supportPatristic supportLatin supportSyriac supportScant evidence against KJV

Evidence assessment

The exact KJV wording stands in Codex Bezae, Washingtonianus, Petropolitanus Purpureus, Rossanensis, 078, the correctors of Koridethi and Family 1, and the Byzantine tradition, and Chrysostom quotes it in immediate Matthew 18 context. Sinaiticus and Vaticanus omit the verse, and a Luke-like expansion with “seek and” circulates in a further group of Greek and Syriac witnesses.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Byzantine and fifth-century Greek support

King James Bible reading

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Open in Research Desk

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

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.

Full witness information

Earliest KJV-supporting evidence

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

c. AD 390–407 — John Chrysostom. His use shows the verse in late-fourth-century Greek ecclesiastical transmission.

Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Codex D.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Byzantine and fifth-century Greek support

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

Majority Text standing

Presence of the verse

The verse is the overwhelming numerical Majority Text reading and stands in the dominant Byzantine stream.

Estimated Greek support: More than 1,500 Greek manuscripts

Unit qualification: A secondary group expands the verse toward Luke; the exact KJV form and the expanded form remain separated in the roster.

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

11 named Greek witnesses plus the Byzantine tradition in Willker's apparatus

Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus

16 named Greek witnesses plus Family 1 and much of Family 13

Lectionary evidence

Noted through the broader Byzantine/church tradition

Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot

Codex Sinaiticus (01)
Codex Vaticanus (03)
Codex Regius first hand (019*)
Family 13 member 788

Evidence represented on this page

Greek manuscripts

Represented

Ancient versions

Represented

Church fathers

Represented

Printed editions

No entry listed

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

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 cited scope: 11 named Greek witnesses plus the Byzantine tradition in Willker's apparatus
Greek competing evidence in cited scope: 16 named Greek witnesses plus Family 1 and much of Family 13
Evidence classification: Byzantine and fifth-century Greek support

Presence and form of the verse

KJV/TR unit: ἦλθεν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός

Greek manuscripts

Supports the KJV/TR form

05 022 032 038C 042 078V 1C 22 372 700 2737

Grouped evidence: Byz

Latin, Syriac and Coptic

Supports the KJV/TR form

Grouped evidence: much Old Latin · Vulgate tradition · Curetonian · Peshitta · a Bohairic strand

Greek manuscripts

Related or qualified evidence

ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι — the Luke-expanded form

011 019C 021 157 346 579 713 892mg

Grouped evidence: about 250 later manuscripts cited collectively · Syriac Harklean · a Bohairic strand · Ethiopic evidence

Greek manuscripts

Competing reading

01 03 019* 038* 9 33 146 556 837 892* 899* 929* 1294 1502 2317 2680

Grouped evidence: Family 1 · much of Family 13

Old Latin, Syriac and Coptic

Competing reading

e (VL2) ff1 (VL9) Sinaitic Christian-Palestinian-Aramaic Sahidic Bohairic-strand mae-1 mae-2 Georgian-2A

Lacunose

Non-directional evidence

04

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.

Clement of Alexandria

c. AD 200

Stromata 3

Supporting witnessCitation type: Allusion

Allusion in Stromata 3.

Locator: Stromateis 3

Open source

John Chrysostom

AD 367–400

Constantinople

Homilies on Matthew 59.4

Supporting witnessCitation type: Direct quotation

Used Greek manuscripts containing Matthew 18:11

Locator: Homiliae in Matthaeum 59.4

Open source

Apostolic Constitutions

AD 367–400

Apostolic Constitutions 2

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Close quotation in Apostolic Constitutions 2.

Locator: Constitutiones apostolorum 2

Open source

Augustine

c. AD 400

North Africa

Apparatus-level attribution

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Used Latin manuscripts containing Matthew 18:11

Locator: Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 1: Matthew, TVU 237, PDF p. 377; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Roster distinctions

The Syriac Harklean and the corrected/marginal state of Regius carry the expanded form, not the exact KJV wording.
Family 1 is split: the corrector of 1 has the exact wording while its first hand omits; within Family 13, 346 expands and 788 omits.

Evidence notes

Important distinctions in the evidence.

The Syriac Harklean and the corrected/marginal state of Regius carry the expanded form, not the exact KJV wording.
Family 1 is split: the corrector of 1 has the exact wording while its first hand omits; within Family 13, 346 expands and 788 omits.

Evidence assessment

Why the KJV reading is retained

The exact KJV wording stands in Codex Bezae, Washingtonianus, Petropolitanus Purpureus, Rossanensis, 078, the correctors of Koridethi and Family 1, and the Byzantine tradition, and Chrysostom quotes it in immediate Matthew 18 context. Sinaiticus and Vaticanus omit the verse, and a Luke-like expansion with “seek and” circulates in a further group of Greek and Syriac witnesses.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Byzantine and fifth-century Greek support

Evidence represented on this page

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

GreekRepresented

LatinRepresented

Other versionsRepresented

FathersRepresented

Printed editionsNot listed

References

Editions and works cited.

Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.
New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room
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.
The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 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 237, PDF p. 377.
Open source
LaParola Münster-linked verse apparatus. Matthew 18:11 — subvariant separation for the ζητῆσαι καί expansion.
Open source
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.
Open source
Vetus Latina Gospel manuscripts register (ITSEE, University of Birmingham). Identity and physical date of the named Old Latin manuscripts.
Open source
British Library Archives and Manuscripts record, Curetonian Syriac (Add MS 14451). Physical date of the Curetonian manuscript, c. AD 450–470.
Open source
Wieland Willker, study of Middle Egyptian mae-2 (Schøyen MS 2650). Identity and date of mae-1 (Codex Scheide) and mae-2 (Schøyen MS 2650).
Open source
New Advent Fathers of the Church. Chrysostom, Hom. in Matt. 59.4.
Open source

The Son of Man Came to Save

Matthew 18:11 in the King James Bible

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

Byzantine and fifth-century Greek support

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

Presence and form of the verse

Greek manuscripts

Latin, Syriac and Coptic

Greek manuscripts

Greek manuscripts

Old Latin, Syriac and Coptic

Lacunose

Church Fathers and literary witnesses

Clement of Alexandria

John Chrysostom

Apostolic Constitutions

Augustine

Important distinctions in the evidence.

Why the KJV reading is retained

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

Editions and works cited.