The Lord's Prayer in the King James Version is Matthew 6:9-13: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:9-13). Luke gives a shorter form of the same prayer (Luke 11:2-4).
Many people learned the Lord's Prayer at church, from a grandparent or at a school assembly, and the words they remember are the King James words: which art, Hallowed be thy name, Thy will be done. This page gives you the prayer exactly as the KJV prints it in Matthew 6, then walks through it one line at a time: what each phrase meant when Jesus taught it, and how you can pray it today. You will also find Luke's shorter version, the warning Jesus gave just before the prayer, and places where the rest of the Bible echoes its words. If you would like a copy for your wall, coloring pages or prayer cards, download the free Lord's Prayer printable. For more verses on how and why to pray, see Bible verses about prayer.
The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV), line by line
1. Matthew 6:9
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."
Jesus introduces the prayer with After this manner therefore pray ye: pray like this. The Lord's Prayer is a pattern to follow as well as words to recite. Our Father is both personal and shared. We come to God as His children, and we never pray it alone, because the word is our, not my. Which art in heaven is older English for who is in heaven; the Father who is close is also above all. Hallowed be thy name is the first request: let Your name be treated as holy, in the world and in my own life.
2. Matthew 6:10
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
Thy kingdom come asks God to bring His rule fully into the world, the kingdom Jesus announced when He began preaching (Mark 1:15). Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven asks that life here would line up with God's will the way it already does in heaven. The KJV says in earth; most modern translations read on earth. Praying this line is also an act of surrender. Before we ask for anything for ourselves, we ask for what God wants, in our homes, workplaces and hearts.
3. Matthew 6:11
"Give us this day our daily bread."
With Give us this day our daily bread, the prayer turns from God's concerns to our needs, and Jesus puts ordinary needs right in the middle of it. Daily bread means what we need for today: food, and everything that keeps life going. It echoes the manna in the wilderness, when the people were told to "gather a certain rate every day" (Exodus 16:4). Asking for today's bread teaches trust one day at a time, and the word us keeps hungry neighbors in view. See food and God providing.
4. Matthew 6:12
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
In Matthew's version the KJV says debts and debtors. Sin is pictured as a debt we cannot pay, and forgiving others is like cancelling what they owe us. The familiar word trespasses comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1549), which followed William Tyndale's earlier translation, and it matches the verses Jesus adds right after the prayer: "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:14). Forgiving someone does not mean pretending the harm was small or staying in danger; it means letting God, not revenge, settle the account. See forgiveness.
5. Matthew 6:13
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
Lead us not into temptation does not suggest that God tempts us; James says God "cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man" (James 1:13). It asks God to keep us away from situations where we would fall, and to rescue us when evil presses in: deliver us from evil. The closing words, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen., are called the doxology. Many of the oldest Greek manuscripts end at deliver us from evil, so most modern translations put the doxology in a footnote, but the KJV prints it, and Christians have prayed it for many centuries.
Luke's shorter version, and why Jesus taught it
6. Matthew 6:7
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
Just before teaching the prayer, Jesus warned against vain repetitions: piling up words as if God hears us better the more we say. That matters for the Lord's Prayer itself. Saying it from memory is good, and many churches pray it together every week, but Jesus wants it prayed from the heart, not rattled off. The next verse explains why: "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matthew 6:8). We pray because He is our Father, not to wear Him down.
7. Luke 11:2
"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth."
Luke places the prayer in a different setting. One of the disciples watched Jesus praying and asked, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1), and Jesus answered with this shorter form. The opening is nearly the same as Matthew's, though here the KJV words the line as in heaven, so in earth. Because the Gospels give the prayer in two slightly different forms, many Christians see it as a living pattern for prayer as well as a script to memorize. Either way, it begins where all prayer should begin: with Our Father.
8. Luke 11:3
"Give us day by day our daily bread."
Give us day by day stresses the ongoing rhythm: keep giving, every day. Where Matthew asks for bread this day, Luke asks for it day after day. Both remind us that God is not a once-a-year provider. You can pray this line over groceries, a paycheck, a job search or a child's medicine, and then thank Him at the next meal. It also guards against worry about the far future; as Jesus said a few verses later in Matthew, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow" (Matthew 6:34).
9. Luke 11:4
"And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."
Luke uses sins where Matthew uses debts, and then explains it with debt language anyway: every one that is indebted to us. Luke's KJV form has no doxology and ends with deliver us from evil. Between them, the two Gospels give us two pictures of forgiveness: wrongs that need pardon and debts that need cancelling. Seeing them side by side helps explain why churches today say the prayer in slightly different ways, with debts, sins or trespasses, while praying the same thing.
The prayer's words echoed in the rest of Scripture
10. John 12:28
"Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
Days before the cross, Jesus prayed His own version of Hallowed be thy name: Father, glorify thy name. And the Father answered aloud from heaven. This is what the first line of the Lord's Prayer looks like when it is lived: putting God's honor ahead of our own comfort. Jesus had just said, "Now is my soul troubled" (John 12:27), so He prayed it with a troubled soul, not a calm one. You can pray hallowed be thy name on hard days too.
11. Matthew 26:42
"He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done."
In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed the hardest line of the prayer He had taught: thy will be done. He did not hide His anguish. He first asked whether the cup could pass from Him (Matthew 26:39), and then He returned and prayed again, ending in trust. When you pray Thy will be done through tears, you are not being less spiritual. You are praying in the footsteps of Jesus Himself.
12. Psalms 22:28
"For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations."
The doxology's thine is the kingdom has deep roots in the Old Testament. David blessed God with the words "thine is the kingdom, O LORD" (1 Chronicles 29:11), and this psalm declares that the kingdom is the LORD's. It is a fitting place to end. Whatever we have asked for, the prayer closes by handing everything back to the God who rules over all, which is why so many people find peace in praying it slowly at the end of the day.
A short prayer
Our Father in heaven, thank You that I can call You Father. Let Your name be honored in my life today. Bring Your kingdom and do Your will here, in my home and in my work, as it is done in heaven. Give me what I need for today, and help me trust You for tomorrow. Forgive my sins, and give me grace to forgive those who have wronged me. Keep me from temptation and rescue me from evil. Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Download the free Lord's Prayer printable: wall art, coloring pages and prayer cards · Pray through it for a month with the 30-Day Prayer Journal · Memorize it with the Scripture Memory Cards
Frequently asked questions
What is the Lord's Prayer in the King James Version?
It is Matthew 6:9-13. It begins "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9) and ends "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13). Luke 11:2-4 gives a shorter form without the closing words. The full KJV text is in the quick answer at the top of this page, and you can print it from our free Lord's Prayer printable.
Why does the KJV say debts instead of trespasses?
The KJV translates Matthew 6:12 as "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." The word trespasses comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1549), which followed William Tyndale's earlier wording, and it echoes Matthew 6:14. Many Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist congregations say trespasses, and many Presbyterian and other Reformed churches say debts. Both are faithful ways of praying the same request.
Is the ending 'For thine is the kingdom' in the Bible?
Yes, in the King James Version it is part of Matthew 6:13. Many of the oldest Greek manuscripts do not include it, so most modern translations put it in a footnote, and Luke's version (Luke 11:4) does not have it. Christians have used a closing doxology with this prayer since very early times. In the Catholic Mass a similar acclamation follows a short prayer said by the priest. Whichever form your church uses, the words echo Scripture: "thine is the kingdom, O LORD" (1 Chronicles 29:11).
How do I pray the Lord's Prayer line by line?
Slow down and pause after each line to add your own words. After "Hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9), praise God for something specific. After the line about daily bread, name today's needs. After the line about debts, name someone you need to forgive. Jesus introduced it with "After this manner therefore pray ye" (Matthew 6:9), so it is meant to shape your prayers, not only to be recited. The free Lord's Prayer printable includes a 7-day plan for praying it this way.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Prayer · Free Lord's Prayer printable · The power of prayer · God answering prayers · Being prayerful · Forgiveness · Temptation · God providing
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