Where is the kingdom, power, and glory? A text-critical analysis of the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew

Abstract

Students of the Greek New Testament may often be surprised not to find the traditional English ending, or doxology (“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”), of the Lord’s Prayer in the current critical editions of the Greek text (NA28/UBS5). This doxological ending finds its way into Greek manuscripts roughly around the fifth century, although the doxology is possibly found earlier in non-canonical Christian literature. Current translations around the world are split on adding or not adding the doxology. This article is divided into two parts: (1) a text-critical evaluation of the variants at the end of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and (2) a survey of the textual history of the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer specifically through five phases: oral tradition, early transmission, late transmission, early critical texts, and modern translations. Concluding comments suggest a mutually beneficial relationship between text-critical scholarship and the church/liturgical practices.