Wedding reading
The Lord's Prayer
Matthew 6, King James Bible
“The Lord's Prayer” by Matthew 6, King James Bible is a prayer read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 40 seconds read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
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.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Say the first line alone, then let the room carry it. Warn them it is coming.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: said together · everyone knows it · the congregation joins in · short · traditional.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “The Lord's Prayer” take to read aloud?
“The Lord's Prayer” takes about 40 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “The Lord's Prayer”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “The Lord's Prayer” runs about 40 seconds and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “The Lord's Prayer” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)30 secondsBook of Common Prayer
- Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)10 secondsTraditional Catholic prayer
- Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)20 secondsKing James Bible
- El Malei Rachamima minute and a halfTraditional memorial prayer
- Mourner's Kaddisha minute and a halfTraditional, Aramaic
- Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace50 secondsAttributed to St Francis of Assisi