Matthew 17:21

This morning one of my co-workers texted an intelligent and observant question. Why isn't there a Matthew 17:21 verse in the Bible? Had the opportunity to explain that the original manuscripts of the New Testament, written in Greek, did not have chapter and verse markings. Many centuries later they were added to Bibles written in Latin. As Latin was the language of educated people in Europe and North America until modern times, these chapter and verse divisions were used in the languages of many other translations including Portuguese. However more modern scholarship had discovered and subjected to textual criticism a vast new body of evidence from the original Greek. It was determined that in a few instances verses or passages had been added in the Latin based versions that were not supported by the Greek originals. Examples include Matthew 17:21 which says" that this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting." Other questionable passages are Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53 to 8:11. However no important doctrines are affected.