What Is a Benediction? Meaning, Origin, and Where It Goes in a Service
A benediction is a spoken blessing pronounced over people, usually at the end of a worship service, declaring God's favor rather than requesting it.
Where it goes in the service
At the very end of a worship service, after the last song and after any announcements, spoken by the presiding minister with hands raised or extended over a standing congregation. Also used at weddings, baptisms, funerals, ordinations, and commissionings. Nothing should follow it but dismissal.
What is a benediction (definition)?
The word comes from the Latin bene, "well", and dicere, "to speak". A benediction is literally a good word spoken over someone. In Christian worship it is the blessing pronounced over the congregation at the end of a service, and it is the last thing most people hear before they walk out.
The distinguishing feature is direction. A prayer is addressed to God on behalf of people. A benediction is addressed to people on behalf of God. That is why benedictions are written in the second person: "The Lord bless you and keep you", not "Lord, bless us and keep us". The minister is not asking; the minister is announcing something that is already true and putting God's name on the people, which is exactly what Numbers 6:27 says the blessing does.
The form is biblical rather than invented. God dictates the wording of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Nearly every New Testament letter ends with a benediction of its own, which is why "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" from 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the second most-used text in the church. The benediction is the oldest surviving element of Christian worship that is still spoken word for word from scripture in almost every tradition.
Outside of church the word is used more loosely. A benediction at a graduation or a civic dinner usually means the closing prayer, in contrast with the invocation that opened the event. That usage is common and harmless, though it is not quite what the word means inside a liturgy.
6 what is a benediction you can use this Sunday
Free to copy, print, and project. Scripture is quoted from public-domain translations, so no permission is required.
A Scriptural Benediction
ScripturalYahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.
— Numbers 6:24-26 (WEB)
An Apostolic Benediction
ApostolicThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
— 2 Corinthians 13:14 (WEB)
A Benediction and a Closing Prayer, Side by Side
TeachingCLOSING PRAYER (addressed to God, on behalf of the people): Lord, go with us this week. Guard our coming and our going, and bring us back to this room glad to be here. Amen. BENEDICTION (addressed to the people, on behalf of God): The Lord goes with you this week. He guards your coming and your going, now and forever. Go in peace. The content is nearly identical. The direction is not, and the direction is what makes one a benediction.
— Original
A Written Trinitarian Benediction
OriginalGo now as people who have been spoken well of. May the Father who made you keep you, may the Son who bought you hold you, and may the Spirit who lives in you be more obvious in your week than in your Sunday. Amen.
— Original
A First Person Plural Form, for a Lay Leader
Lay-ledMay the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and always. Amen.
— Original, adapted from 2 Corinthians 13:14
The Shortest Usable Benediction
ShortThe Lord bless you and keep you. Go in peace.
— Original, with Numbers 6:24 (KJV)
How to write your own
- 1Check the direction first. If your draft says "Lord, we ask", you have written a closing prayer. Turn every request into a declaration and the same content becomes a benediction.
- 2Use second person unless your tradition reserves that to ordained ministers, in which case shift to "us" throughout rather than switching halfway.
- 3Keep it to forty to seventy words. It is heard once, standing, over a room that is already reaching for coats.
- 4Borrow the trinitarian three-beat shape if you want it to sound like a benediction: Father, Son, Spirit, then a closing word.
- 5End on the noun you want people carrying to the parking lot. Peace, hope, joy, glory. That word is the one that survives the drive home.
How different traditions handle it
Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist orders of worship name the benediction as a distinct element and usually appoint the text, most often the Aaronic blessing or the apostolic grace of 2 Corinthians 13:14. Roman Catholic and Orthodox liturgies close with a blessing accompanied by the sign of the cross. Baptist and non-denominational churches vary from a fixed scriptural benediction to a free pastoral sending, and often use "benediction" and "closing prayer" interchangeably in the bulletin. Traditions that hold a formal doctrine of ordination generally restrict the second-person pronouncement to ordained ministers; traditions that do not, generally do not.
Frequently asked questions
What does benediction mean?
It means a good word spoken over someone, from the Latin bene ("well") and dicere ("to speak"). In worship it refers to the blessing pronounced over the congregation at the end of a service. In general English it can mean any invoked blessing, which is why the word also turns up at graduations and civic dinners.
What is the difference between a benediction and a blessing?
They overlap almost entirely. "Blessing" is the broad word for God's favor or for the act of asking it. "Benediction" is the narrower, liturgical word for the formal blessing spoken at a set point in a service, usually the end. Every benediction is a blessing; not every blessing is a benediction.
When is the benediction given?
At the very end of the service, after the final song and after announcements. Putting an announcement or a second song after it undercuts it, because the benediction is meant to be the last word the congregation hears before being sent. Some churches also use a short benediction at the close of a wedding, funeral, or baptism.
Is the benediction a prayer?
Not strictly. A prayer speaks to God; a benediction speaks to the people on God's behalf. That is why benedictions are worded "The Lord bless you" rather than "Lord, bless us". Many congregations treat the two as one moment and bow their heads for both, and no harm comes of it, but the grammatical difference is the definition.
What is the most common benediction?
The Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, followed by the apostolic grace of 2 Corinthians 13:14. Between them they cover the large majority of benedictions spoken in English-language churches on any given Sunday.
Should the congregation stand for the benediction?
Usually. Standing frames the moment as a sending rather than a reflection. Some congregations also hold their hands open to receive the blessing while the minister raises or extends both hands over them.
What is the opposite of a benediction?
A malediction, from male ("badly") plus dicere: a curse, or a bad word spoken over someone. The pairing is why the phrase "blessings and curses" in Deuteronomy 28 is sometimes rendered as benedictions and maledictions in older English writing.
Keep a record of what was actually said
The benediction (definition) you wrote is in your notes. The sermon that went with it usually isn't. Transcribe every service and build a searchable archive your congregation can go back to — the Church Plan is $19/month for as many sermons as you preach.
Related parts of the service
The Aaronic Benediction
The Aaronic benediction is the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, given by God to Aaron and his sons as the words by which they would put his name on his people.
Benedictions
A benediction is the spoken blessing that sends a congregation out at the end of worship — not a closing prayer, but a pronouncement of God's favor over his people.
Closing Prayers for Church Services
A closing prayer gathers up what happened in a service and sends the congregation into the week with it.
Everything else in the service
Planning the rest of the service
- Sermon resources for all 66 books — themes, famous chapters, and preaching notes to pair with the readings.
- Sermon length calculator — check the service fits the time you actually have.
- Sermon outline generator — turn a text and a big idea into a preaching outline.
- Sermon series ideas — plan a season, then build the liturgy around it.