Subscriptions

The subscriptions to Paul's epistles — the brief closing notes appended to many letters in the Authorized Version, such as "Written from Rome" or "The first epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi" — are not part of the original inspired text. In their present form they are ascribed to Euthalius, a bishop of the fifth century who annotated manuscripts for liturgical use. Several of these subscriptions are demonstrably incorrect: for example, Galatians is subscribed as written from Rome, whereas the letter gives no clear indication of its origin.

These additions reflect the later church's interest in reconstructing the circumstances of Paul's letters and providing liturgical context, but they carry no apostolic authority. Modern translations generally omit them or include them only in footnotes, correctly treating the Pauline text as ending at the final verse of each letter.