Matthew 6:9-13: Edit history
Revision #8093
Matthew 6:9-13
Localized for English-speaking readers
Status: approved
Changes from the previous English revision
This passage contains the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, which the church recites together as the Lord's Prayer. Discussion of the passage addresses how its form differs from the version in Luke, the absence of the closing doxology from the oldest manuscripts, and the translation of several of its words.
Matthew 6:9-13 contains the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, which the church recites together as the Lord's Prayer. Discussion of the passage addresses how its form differs from the version in Luke, the absence of the closing doxology from the oldest manuscripts, and the translation of several of its words.
Full revision
Matthew 6:9-13 contains the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, which the church recites together as the Lord's Prayer. Discussion of the passage addresses how its form differs from the version in Luke, the absence of the closing doxology from the oldest manuscripts, and the translation of several of its words.
Context
The passage belongs to the teaching on almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 6:1-18) within the Sermon on the Mount. After warning against praying to be seen by others and against the vain repetitions of the heathen, Jesus gives this prayer with the words "After this manner therefore pray ye." A shorter form appears in Luke 11:2-4, where it is given in response to the disciples' request that he teach them to pray.
Interpretation
The prayer is commonly understood to consist of an address to God as "Our Father," followed by three petitions concerning God's name, kingdom, and will, and three petitions concerning daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation and evil.
- As a model of prayer: The prayer is read both as a text to be recited as it stands and as a pattern that teaches the order and content of all prayer.
- As an eschatological prayer: This reading places "Thy kingdom come" at the center and understands the prayer as that of a community awaiting the consummation of the kingdom of God.
- Individual words: "Daily" (epiousios) is a rare word found only in the New Testament, and it has been interpreted in several ways, including "needed for today" and "for tomorrow." "From evil" can also be rendered "from the evil one."
Debates and Issues
- The manuscript question of the doxology: The closing words "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever" are absent from the oldest major manuscripts and appear in later ones. For this reason, modern translations place them in brackets or relegate them to a footnote. A common view is that a doxology appended to the prayer in early Christian worship made its way into the text. In the Catholic Mass, the Lord's Prayer concludes without the doxology, which is offered separately after an intervening prayer by the priest.
- "Lead us not into temptation": Some have objected that the phrase can be read as though God leads people into temptation. In the Catholic Church, Pope Francis addressed this issue, and Catholic liturgical texts in some languages have been revised to wording closer to "do not let us fall into temptation." Protestants generally retain the traditional wording, explaining "temptation" as encompassing both enticement and trial.
- In Korean churches, both an older and a newer Korean translation of the Lord's Prayer are in use, so the wording varies slightly from church to church.
Related Passages
- Luke 11:2-4
- Matthew 6:5-8
- John 17:1-26
- James 1:13
| Revision | Time (UTC) | Contributor | Summary | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8093 | 2026-11-05 01:48:32 | AI localization | Localized for English-speaking readers | approved |
| #8092 | 2026-11-05 01:48:32 | AI localization | English baseline before localization | approved |