Matthew 6: 13b – For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
Well, this sentence appears to have been added to the copies of Matthew and Luke. If you start reading the internet the theories abound as to why. One that was echoed several times was it made Luke sound more like the prayer in Matthew. The denomination I grew up in used this line. I want to say there was an additional “ever” at the end, but that might just have been me.
Yes, there are differences in the manuscripts of the Gospels over the centuries. Check your footnotes as many times these slight additions or missing words will be noted. The NIV (1984) documents lines and phrases that appear to have been added or not in all ancient manuscripts – Matthew 24:36, 23:13, 21:44, 19:29, 18:15, 17:20, 16:2 and 3, 15:14, and 6, 12:47, 6:13, 5:44 and 22, 26:28, 27:35 and 46. (Guess how I explored that thought?)
Another fact I looked into this morning was the original languages the Gospels were written in. Since I have pointed out in 6:11 about epiousious and how special of a word it is; I will point out that Matthew’s first copies were written in Hebrew.
Here are some resources:
- Hebrew Matthew | HebrewGospels.com
- Was The Gospel of Matthew Originally Written In Hebrew? – The BAS Library
- Mark’s Gospel was originally written in Latin12. It was written for the Christians of Rome, who most often used Latin as their written language. Matthew’s Gospel was written in Hebrew, and Luke’s Gospel was written in Greek345.
John’s first manuscripts are in Greek.
People have definite opinions on the meaning of Revelation 22:18 and 19. With this prayer I see a well-traveled and often said petition to the Father. The slight variations, I feel, reflect years of repetition through various cultures and languages. It is hard to image that the prayer was used from Ireland to India and the Arctic Circle to the Equator hundreds of years before the Great Bible ever made it to paper.
Mark's Bible Study 