Why Matthew 6:13 Ends With “For Thine Is the Kingdom” in the KJV
Why the Lord’s Prayer Ends in Praise in the King James Bible.
Most modern Bibles end the Lord’s Prayer with:
“…deliver us from evil.”1
But the King James Bible continues:
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Is this line original?
Or was it added later?
A careful look at the manuscripts, early church writings, and Christian history shows that the longer ending has deep roots in Scripture and in the life of the church. What follows is a clear and accurate explanation of why the KJV includes it—and why generations of Christians have prayed it.
1. The Manuscripts: The Majority Include the Doxology
Well over 90% of all surviving Greek manuscripts of Matthew include the words:
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
This includes:
Nearly the entire Byzantine tradition
Almost all Greek lectionaries used in worship
Most medieval uncials and minuscules
Only a small handful of manuscripts omit it—mainly Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, and a few related copies.
These are the same manuscripts that modern critical editions rely on.
The older manuscripts are not automatically better. The wide, consistent presence of the doxology in the Greek church’s manuscripts shows how Christians read and prayed the text for centuries.
2. The Early Church: Christians Prayed These Words From the Beginning
Even outside the manuscripts, Christians very early attached a doxology to the Lord’s Prayer.
The Didachē (early 2nd century)
One of the earliest Christian documents ends the Lord’s Prayer with:
“For thine is the power and the glory forever.”
Not the same wording as the KJV—but clearly a doxology.
Apostolic Constitutions (4th century)
This influential church manual also preserves a doxology.
Church Fathers
Writers such as Chrysostom, Ambrose, Theophylact, and Euthymius Zigabenus all comment on Matthew with the longer ending included.
The early church didn’t pray the Lord’s Prayer without praise at the end.
This was part of Christian worship from the beginning.
3. Why the King James Includes It
The KJV translators used the Textus Receptus, the historic Greek text used across the Greek-speaking church for over a thousand years.
Every edition of the TR includes the doxology.
This wasn’t a guess—it was the reading found in virtually every manuscript they had.
The famous Alexandrian manuscripts that omit the doxology (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) weren’t even discovered until the 1800s.
The King James translators simply followed:
The continuous manuscript tradition
The ancient church’s practice
The public text that had been read and preached
The overwhelming numerical and historical evidence
It was the form believed, used, and memorized by the people of God.
4. A Text That Fits the Bible’s Rhythm
The ending of the prayer echoes the Old Testament:
“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory…”
—1 Chronicles 29:11
It harmonizes with Paul’s doxologies (1 Timothy 1:17) and the praise of heaven (Revelation 5:13).
Without it, the Lord’s Prayer ends abruptly on:
“…deliver us from evil.”
With it, the prayer begins and ends with God’s glory—a beautiful pattern found all through Scripture.
5. Why Some Bibles Leave It Out Today
In the Latin West, the doxology disappeared from the Vulgate—mostly because Jerome followed the Old Latin tradition and some Alexandrian manuscripts that lacked it.
Western liturgy followed Jerome.
But the East kept the doxology. So did ancient translations like the Syriac, Gothic, Armenian, Georgian, and others.
In other words:
In the West: shortened
In the East: preserved
In the manuscripts: overwhelmingly present
In worship: nearly universal
This is why the KJV retains the full ending.
6. Theological and Historical Reasons to Keep It
Christians aren’t just weighing manuscripts—we’re looking at God’s providence through history.
The longer reading:
Fits Scripture’s pattern
Matches early Christian usage
Reflects the Greek church’s continuous text
Stands in the overwhelming majority of manuscripts
Has been prayed by believers for nearly 2,000 years
As Robert Haldane wrote:
“God did not give His Word to be lost and recovered by critics, but to be preserved and believed by His people through all ages.”
And that is exactly what we see in Matthew 6:13.
No Accident
The doxology—“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”—is not an accidental addition.
It is:
Ancient
Well-attested
Widely used
Scripturally fitting
And deeply rooted in Christian devotion
When we pray these words today, we join a chorus that stretches back through centuries of believers who ended their prayers in the same way:
with praise to God.
Scholarly Notes
1. Manuscript Evidence
The doxology appears in the overwhelming majority of Greek manuscripts (Byzantine tradition), including most uncials after the 5th century and nearly all minuscules and lectionaries.
Manuscripts omitting it include Sinaiticus (א), Vaticanus (B), Bezae (D), W (first hand), 1, 17, 118, and a small related cluster.
2. Early Christian Writers
A doxology appears very early in Christian usage:
• Didachē 8 (early 2nd century)
• Apostolic Constitutions VII.24
• Commentators such as Chrysostom, Ambrose, Theophylact, and Euthymius Zigabenus
3. Eastern vs. Western Tradition
The Greek-speaking East consistently preserved the longer ending in both manuscripts and worship.
Jerome’s Vulgate omitted it, following Old Latin readings and several Alexandrian witnesses. This shaped Western liturgy but does not reflect the larger manuscript tradition.
4. Liturgical Evidence
Nearly every Greek lectionary includes the doxology.
The Eastern Church prayed the Lord’s Prayer with this ending for centuries, showing how Christians heard and memorized the text publicly.
5. Textus Receptus Background
Erasmus, Stephanus, and Beza—all major editors of the Textus Receptus—included the doxology in every edition.
These editions formed the basis of the 1611 King James Bible.
6. Critical Text Position
Modern critical editions (Nestle–Aland, UBS) omit the doxology based on supposed early Alexandrian manuscripts and internal arguments about liturgical expansion. These manuscripts are considered early according to palaeographic estimates, though they have never been scientifically dated in a laboratory, and questions about their provenance and reliability persist. Modern editors follow the Westcott–Hort approach, which prioritizes a very small handful of these Alexandrian witnesses over the overwhelming manuscript majority.
7. Traditional Text Position
Traditional / Byzantine-priority scholars (Burgon, Hoskier, Pickering, Hills) argue that:
• The majority reading reflects stable transmission
• Patristic and liturgical evidence is significant
• Alexandrian omissions often represent abbreviation, not originality
8. Theological Consideration
The doxology matches biblical themes (1 Chr. 29:11; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 5:13) and completes the prayer with praise.
Its early and widespread use strengthens the case for its authenticity.
Sources & Further Reading
Textual Scholars Supporting the Longer Ending
John William Burgon, The Revision Revised (1883)
J. W. Burgon, Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text
F. H. A. Scrivener, Six Lectures on the Text of the New Testament (1875)
F. H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament
Herman C. Hoskier, Codex B and Its Allies (1914)
Edward F. Hills, The King James Version Defended (1956)
Frederick Nolan, The Integrity of the Greek Vulgate (1815)
Early Church Sources
Didachē, chapter 8
Apostolic Constitutions, Book VII
John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew
Ambrose, De Sacramentis
Theophylact, Commentary on Matthew
Euthymius Zigabenus, Commentary on the Gospels
Greek Text Traditions
Textus Receptus (Erasmus, Stephanus, Beza, Scrivener)
Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th ed.
UBS Greek New Testament, 5th ed.
📎 Note for Clarity
Most modern translations end the Lord’s Prayer with the words “deliver us from evil.”
Some render it “the evil one,” since the Greek can be translated either way.
But almost all modern versions stop the prayer at this point and do not include the closing doxology.