What Does the Lord's Prayer Say?

There are two reports of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible: Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.

The Matthew report is the one that serves as the basis for public use in worship.

Luke does not have the “For thine is the…” ending, and neither do what are generally considered the earliest manuscripts of Matthew. It is likely that the ending was a marginal notation designed to aid those using the prayer in worship, and the marginal notation was eventually copied into the main text of later manuscripts. Still, the ending, probably based on 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, is appropriate and was in use very early in church history.

Neither biblical report of the Lord’s Prayer mentions trespasses, but uses debts instead. The word trespasses was imported from Matthew 6:14-15 for use in the prayer books of liturgical churches. Churches of the Campbell-Stone movement, like our own, tended to revert to the biblical debts (“Bible names for Bible things,” was one of their slogans) unless and until they have come under the influence of more liturgical churches. Neither debts (obligations we are unable to fulfill) nor trespasses (incidents in which we have crossed a moral boundary) communicates well with many modern people. Some modern translations substitute sins which was already used once in the Luke version.

Other words or phrases used in the prayer that many modern people tend to misunderstand or at least fail to understand are: hallowed, kingdom, and lead us not into temptation.

There are four categories for modern versions of the Bible:

1. formal translations stay as close to word-for-word as possible while achieving good English style (examples: ESV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV)
2. mid-range translations compromise between 1 and 3 (examples: NIV, TNIV, HCSB, NET, REB, NJB, GW) In the case of the Lord’s Prayer, the NIV is very like the ESV.
3. dynamic translations (examples: NLT, CEV, NIrV) are idea-for-idea translations. The NCV attempts to be an easy-reading formal translation; but, in becoming easy-reading, it is more like the dynamic translations than like the formal ones.
4. paraphrases (example: The Message) introduce things that are not in the original manuscripts in order to try to communicate more readily with modern readers.
   

Here are four versions of the Lord’s Prayer:

Formal: ESV

6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. [1]

6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, [2] on earth as it is in heaven.

6:11 Give us this day our daily bread, [3]

6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [4]

Footnotes: [1] 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence [2] 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done [3] 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow [4] 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.[The NRSV is identical to the ESV except for verse 13: “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”]

Dynamic: NLT

6:9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

6:10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

6:11 Give us today the food we need,[a]

6:12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

6:13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,[b] but rescue us from the evil one.[c]

Footnotes: [a] Give us today our food for the day; or Give us today our food for tomorrow. [b] And keep us from being tested. [c]Or from evil. Some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Paraphrase: The Message:
6:9 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply like this:
Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are.

6:10 Set the world right; do what's best— as above, so below.

6:11 Keep us alive with three square meals.

6:12 Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

6:13 Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. Ending: You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

The latest Turner paraphrase is:

6:9 Pray according to this outline:
Our Father in heaven, may we use your name only for your perfect purposes.

6:10 May your full reign come soon so that your will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

6:11 Give us all that we need to sustain us until that fulfillment comes.

6:12 And forgive us for missing your perfect goals for us, as we forgive those who have missed your perfect goals in their treatment of us.

6:13 And, in trying times, do not let us fail to trust and obey your truth, but rescue us from the deceptions of the evil one. For to you belongs all authority, power, and glory. So be it!

Next Sunday’s sermon is titled, “WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY THE LORD’S PRAYER?” Get ready for it by considering how the Lord’s Prayer can become more meaningful in your life.