Lord's Prayer
|
|
The Lord's Prayer (sometimes known by its first two Latin words as the Pater Noster, in Greek as the Template:Polytonic, or the English equivalent Our Father) is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity.
According to the New Testament, the prayer was given by Jesus of Nazareth as a response to a request from the Apostles for guidance on how to pray.
The prayer is excerpted from the book of Matthew (6:9-13), where it appears as part of the Sermon on the Mount. A similar prayer is found in Luke 11:2-4.
Most Christian theologians argue that Jesus would have never used this prayer himself, for it specifically asks for forgiveness of sins (or more literally for cancellation of debts), and in most schools of Christian thought, Christ never sinned. However since it says "forgive us our debts", not "forgive me my debts", some claim that Christ might have prayed it by way of identifying himself with the common plight of man and of asking for the forgiveness of the sins of his disciples.
The doxology (For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.) was probably not present in the original version of the prayer, but rather was added to the Gospels as a result of its use in the liturgy of the early church. For this reason, it is not included in many modern translations.
| Contents |
|
|
The text of the Lord's Prayer
Although Jesus would, most probably, have taught the prayer in Aramaic, the earliest texts we have are in Greek. As Latin was the dominant language of Western Christianity, the Paternoster, the prayer in Latin, is an important translation of the Greek prayer.
- See Wikisource:Religious texts (http://wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Religious_texts) for the Lord's Prayer in other languages.
Greek
In Koinē Greek (from which all others are directly or indirectly translated):
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
- Template:Polytonic
Transliterated:
- Pater hēmōn, ho en tois ouranois
- hagiasthētō to onoma sou;
- elthetō hē basileia sou;
- genethetō to thelēma sou,
- hōs en ouranōi, kai epi tēs gēs;
- ton arton hēmōn ton epiousion dos hēmin sēmeron;
- kai aphes hēmin ta opheilēmata hēmōn,
- hōs kai hēmeis aphiemen tois opheiletais hēmōn;
- kai mē eisenenkēis hēmas eis peirasmon,
- alla rhusai hēmas apo tou ponērou.
- [Hoti sou estin hē basileia, kai hē dúnamis, kai hē doxa eis tous aiōnas;]
- amēn.
Latin
- Pater noster, qui es in caelis
- sanctificetur nomen tuum;
- Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua
- sicut in caelo et in terra
- Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie.
- Et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
- sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
- Et ne nos inducas in tentationem;
- sed libera nos a malo.
- Amen.
This version of the prayer occasionally shows up in certain hymns.
Another version uses supersubstantialem in place of quotidianum; quotidianum is also sometimes spelled cotidianum.
English
Traditional
Although numerous variations exist, this version, from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, is a fairly well known example:
- Our Father who art in Heaven,
- hallowed be Thy Name.
- Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,
- on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
- Give us this day our daily bread,
- and forgive us our trespasses,
- as we forgive those who trespass against us.
- And lead us not into temptation,
- but deliver us from evil.
- [For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
- for ever and ever.]
- Amen.
Apart from four minor words and some capital letters, this is essentially the same as the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: the earlier version had "which art in Heaven", "in Earth", and "them that trespass".
The use of the word "trespasses" instead of "debts" as in Matthew 6:12 may be due to the use of the word in the explanation that follows the prayer in Matthew 6:13,14, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Even in the third century, Origen used the word trespasses (paraptômata) in the prayer. However, the Established Presbyterian Church of Scotland uses "debts" and "debtors" in the prayer. Most Evangelical churches associate the use of "trespasses" with Catholic traditions and prefer the use of "debts" and "debtors" instead.
The doxology (indicated in square brackets in the texts above) is almost certainly not part of the original prayer, but a later addition. It is frequently omitted or separated from the main body of the prayer.
Ecumenical English version
The ecumenical version prepared by the English Language Liturgical Commission
- Our Father in heaven,
- hallowed be your name,
- your kingdom come,
- your will be done,
- on earth as in heaven.
- Give us today our daily bread.
- Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
- Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
- For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
- now and forever. Amen.
Other English versions
Other English versions are available at Wikisource (http://wikisource.org/wiki/Lord's_Prayer).
See also
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia Reference to the Lord's Prayer (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09356a.htm)
- The Lord's Prayer in Hebrew (with audio) (http://hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/The_Lord_s_Prayer_1/the_lord_s_prayer_1.html)
- The Lord's Prayer in 1,310 languages (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/)
- The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic including sound clip (http://www.v-a.com/bible/prayer.html)ang:Fæder úre
roa-rup:Tată a nostru be:Ойча наш cs:Otčenáš da:Fader vor de:Vaterunser et:Meieisapalve es:Padrenuestro eo:Patro Nia fr:Notre Père gd:Urnaigh an Tighearna id:Bapa Kami it:Padre Nostro kw:Pader la:Pater noster nl:Onzevader nds:Vadderunser ja:主の祈り pl:Ojcze Nasz tl:Ama Namin vo:Pleked Söla zh:主禱文