The Glory Be

[AbsconditaInDeo]

I've always wondered what this meant in the Glory be:
"As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen"

Does that mean the world will never end? What does this phrase mean and where did it come from?

In the Latin it says:
"Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum amen." (As it was in the beginning and now and always and unto the ages of ages)

Why is it different then in the Latin?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

"World without end" is probably an attempt to render "saecula saeculorum" into an English idiom. It's very unusual in English to say "into ages of ages." It's not the best translation, but it seems at least to get the sense of the original words.

Personally, I'd like to see the common English version retranslated into something a little more true to the Latin.