Where is the Ending of Matthew 6:13?
The video and the text is below…
Most Bible translations, including the NIV and ESV, do not have the end of Matthew 6:13 in the flow of the Text, which reads, “For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” However, they do place it as a footnote. Most people are not aware that there are small discrepancies like this in a few places in the Bible.
Let me say from the beginning, this in no way undermines the authority of the Bible you have in your hand. It is absolutely trustworthy in all things.
The reality is we do not have the original documents written by the biblical authors. Our Bibles are dependant of copies of the originals written down by scribes throughout the centuries. Scholars who study Textual Criticism have put together two main compilations of NT manuscripts, Majority Text and the Critical Text.
- Majority Text- emphasizes the number of copies and the consistency between them. We have such a high volume with amazing consistency that we get an accurate picture of the original writings. However, to have a great number many of them also have a late date.
- Critical Text- emphasizes the early date of the manuscripts. So even though they have a smaller number of copies they value the early date.
The issue is that the end of Matthew 6:13 is not found in any of the early manuscripts but it does show up in a large number of later manuscripts.
The reason we are so familiar with it is because the KJV is based on the Majority Text and this was the popular translation in our American religious history.
Today most NT scholars hold to the critical text and believe the early manuscripts are most reliable. This is what the NASB, ESV, NIV and other popular translations are based on.
We do see the harmony and respect between the two camps as all Bible translations make note of this ending. I like the way the NASB handles it. They have it in the flow of the text in brackets with a footnote. So you kind of get both.
How did this verse get here if it’s not original?
Most likely a scribe who read from his manuscript in the early church wrote in the margin this ending doxology, which the church would proclaim after reading the Lord’s Prayer. As this manuscript was copied it became part of the flow of the prayer.
However, most scholars believe this is a biblical doxology is taken from a very reliable passage of Scripture, 1 Chronicles 29:11.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory…this is almost word for word, and it goes on to state… and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth, Yours in the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.
As you study the Lord’s Prayer you will see that this is exactly what the Lord had in mind.
A few things to consider:
- This kind of issue does not mean you need to question every verse in your Bible. That is malicious and unwarranted reaction.
- This actually strengthens the credibility of your Bible. This is an authentic and honest evaluation of the inspired Word.
- Anything that is questionable is marked in your Bible. There is 98.5% agreement with the over 5,000 early and later Greek manuscripts. We can be confident that the Bible in your hand is 98.5% exactly what the authors originally wrote. This is impossible, screams divine endurance and there is no other ancient document with this kind of consistency.
- The 1.5% we are unsure of are finite issues such as spelling of a word, endings and tenses of words, word order in a sentence, and little things like this. When we have phrases like this one we can usually find it almost word for word in another portion of Scripture. Even when we have several verses there are none that overturn any doctrine of belief taught in the rest of the Bible. This is not a doctrinal issue, it’s not even an inspiration issue; it is simply our best effort to get everything exact.
- You can be certain that your Bible is 100% true. The Bible you read from is 100% without a doubt trustworthy and reliable.
You have the best copy of the exact inspired Word of God in your hand and this little issue does not change that.
