The promises of God bring true joy to a Christian but as one who has been blessed materialistically but also in understanding and peace i have grown content with my life and even when horrors should befall me i do not worry ( most times at least) , i simply take it as part of life and appreciate the potential learning experience if there might be one. It is only when i go through spiritual warfare, war on my mind and soul that i really come to hate this life and so I Thank God for remanding me through your writing what is that i look forward to which is to finally become Me (who God says I am) completely in service to righteousness.
Great article once again! It's incredible how obvious some things Jesus said were once institutional dogmas are ignored. So many Christians forget that their faith is faith in the promises Jesus made, not in anything nebulous or vague. Very excited for your next book!
I disagree only with not being an apologist. I think by our being an apologist is implicit and synonymous with Christ commandment of spreading the good news as you do so obviously inspired by Gods spirit.
I should have been more clear on that. I'm sure many would say I'm an apologist myself, but I specifically had in mind the type of apologist who waters down the Gospel in order to appease unbelievers
I studied and memorized Mt. 6:9-13 in the Greek a couple of years ago. It's a very interesting passage. The Greek accommodates almost any word order, and authors used that to add emphasis that is often lost in English translation.
In your translation you have
So then, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Let your Kingdom come.
Let your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
In my NA28 (or TR -- they match except that the final γῆς (earth) is articular -- ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς -- in the TR) I have:
Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς·
Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου·
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου·
γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου,
ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς·
The first thing I notice is "who is in the heavens" rather than "in heaven". It occurs elsewhere where it is not changed to singular. It could be a nuance I know nothing about -- that would be unsurprising.
The second thing I notice now (I completely missed it at first, and then scratched my head a lot after I saw it) is that the prayer is a series of imperatives expressed in the aorist passive imperative. This can translate into English using a "may" or "let" imperative, as in "May your name be kept sacred", "May your kingdom come", and "May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". (Osborne*)
Looking at word order, each of the imperatives begins with the verb (not unusual):
◦ ἁγιασθήτω (be sanctified),
◦ ἐλθέτω (be "comed" -- doesn't translate well as a passive, but I think of it as "Come! Your kingdom"). The passive signals "prayer language", so that we don't appear to be commanding God what to do.
◦ γενηθήτω (be brought into being [your will as in heaven]…)
Whether "let" or "may", "on earth as it is in Heaven" is also switched around in English translations, shifting the emphasis. I read it as a straight "as in heaven, also on earth". The TR (used for the KJV) highlights "on earth" with the article (you can think of it as "on the earth", although the Greek article is not directly equivalent to the English definite article).
And that's just the first two verses. There is much more to notice.
The common English translations are OK, I guess, but details of emphasis are lost. But really it is more than that. The entire prayer is a powerful statement that loses some of its strength in translation.
*Osborne, Grant R., Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, Zondervan, 2010
I sort of got that sense myself when I briefly studied the passage, that it's not the kind of phrasing that works in English when translated very directly. Whats your takeaway from your analysis? What do we need to think about when saying the prayer?
Think of it as intense, not like something that has been ritually repeated so often that we stop thinking when we say it! After the invocation to the sanctity of the Father's name, and the initial "your" petitions, each "our" petition to the Father requests something that we must have and that we depend upon Him to provide. Between the toned-down English and the heavy ritual repetition, these meanings can be lost.
I only commented previously on the "your" petitions. There is much to say about the "our" petitions. Too much for this reply. A good Greek-level commentary is essential for understanding many things -- details that are too much to include in a sermon or a study Bible. (They may sometimes turn up in high-quality Bible study curricula, if you can even find such things.) Some of the better commentaries are written in a way that can be appreciated without knowing ancient Greek. For Matthew, I work with Osborne's Matthew commentary (citation in my previous reply).
There is also the option to learn enough Greek to be able to understand it well with the help of commentaries. Bill Mounce's _Greek for the Rest of Us_ was written for that purpose. I rely on this approach extensively, because I waited until so late in life to begin to learn the language.
I will, however, offer a taste of what's hiding behind "Give us this day our daily bread", or "τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον·" It wouldn't be that hard to translate except for that word ἐπιούσιον, which literally can be read as "necessary for existence", but is usually translated as "daily" because of the difficulties of interpreting an extremely rare word (at the time Matthew was written) that some suggest was coined for this prayer.
A possible literal translation (except for that one word) would be "Our ἐπιούσιον bread give to us today". It doesn't line up word-for-word because the adjective ἐπιούσιον is presented in second attributive position (article-noun-article-adjective), with the "our" pronoun (ἡμῶν) included within the construct (article-noun-pronoun-article-adjective). I don't know what the exact meaning of all that might be.
"Give to us today" seems straightforward for the last part. "Give" (δὸς) is in the 2nd person singular aorist active imperative. Osborne doesn't go into that detail and I won't either because I have only the vaguest of ideas. Let's just say it's not a simple, direct command to God to do something. (More on that below.)
First question, what is "bread"? Osborne (redacted for brevity): "In general “bread” stands for food and then for all a person’s needs. Its meaning is hotly debated... The majority ... take it as a metaphor for a person’s daily needs."
Second question, what is "ἐπιούσιον"? This time I am not going to redact other than to remove citation footnotes, and this part is much longer. Here goes. Osborne:
---
The most debated issue is the meaning of ἐπιούσιον. It rarely appears even in secular literature of the period and could have several meanings: (1) necessary for existence (from ἐπί + οὐσία); (2) for the current day (from ἐπὶ τὴν ουσαν [from εἰμί] ἡμέραν); (3) for the following day (from ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν [from ἐπεῖναι] ἡμέραν); (4) for the coming day (from ἐπιέναι). Those who take it eschatologically tend to accept the fourth, and those who take it of current needs opt for the third. It is best in the context to combine the second and third and to translate it as, “give us our bread for today and tomorrow.”
In terms of the Jewish prayers, the morning prayer is for today’s bread, and the evening prayer for tomorrow’s bread. This is a prayer reflecting total God-dependence. When most pray it, they think, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” But this petition actually means, “I rely on you for my daily needs.” Moreover, it reflects an attitude that takes one day at a time, reflecting the first-century day laborer who was paid one day at a time. The point is trusting God for each day’s need, reflecting faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1). With God in charge, each day is taken care of.
The promises of God bring true joy to a Christian but as one who has been blessed materialistically but also in understanding and peace i have grown content with my life and even when horrors should befall me i do not worry ( most times at least) , i simply take it as part of life and appreciate the potential learning experience if there might be one. It is only when i go through spiritual warfare, war on my mind and soul that i really come to hate this life and so I Thank God for remanding me through your writing what is that i look forward to which is to finally become Me (who God says I am) completely in service to righteousness.
Great article once again! It's incredible how obvious some things Jesus said were once institutional dogmas are ignored. So many Christians forget that their faith is faith in the promises Jesus made, not in anything nebulous or vague. Very excited for your next book!
Most excellent!!!
I disagree only with not being an apologist. I think by our being an apologist is implicit and synonymous with Christ commandment of spreading the good news as you do so obviously inspired by Gods spirit.
I should have been more clear on that. I'm sure many would say I'm an apologist myself, but I specifically had in mind the type of apologist who waters down the Gospel in order to appease unbelievers
I studied and memorized Mt. 6:9-13 in the Greek a couple of years ago. It's a very interesting passage. The Greek accommodates almost any word order, and authors used that to add emphasis that is often lost in English translation.
In your translation you have
So then, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Let your Kingdom come.
Let your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
In my NA28 (or TR -- they match except that the final γῆς (earth) is articular -- ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς -- in the TR) I have:
Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς·
Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου·
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου·
γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου,
ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς·
The first thing I notice is "who is in the heavens" rather than "in heaven". It occurs elsewhere where it is not changed to singular. It could be a nuance I know nothing about -- that would be unsurprising.
The second thing I notice now (I completely missed it at first, and then scratched my head a lot after I saw it) is that the prayer is a series of imperatives expressed in the aorist passive imperative. This can translate into English using a "may" or "let" imperative, as in "May your name be kept sacred", "May your kingdom come", and "May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". (Osborne*)
Looking at word order, each of the imperatives begins with the verb (not unusual):
◦ ἁγιασθήτω (be sanctified),
◦ ἐλθέτω (be "comed" -- doesn't translate well as a passive, but I think of it as "Come! Your kingdom"). The passive signals "prayer language", so that we don't appear to be commanding God what to do.
◦ γενηθήτω (be brought into being [your will as in heaven]…)
Whether "let" or "may", "on earth as it is in Heaven" is also switched around in English translations, shifting the emphasis. I read it as a straight "as in heaven, also on earth". The TR (used for the KJV) highlights "on earth" with the article (you can think of it as "on the earth", although the Greek article is not directly equivalent to the English definite article).
And that's just the first two verses. There is much more to notice.
The common English translations are OK, I guess, but details of emphasis are lost. But really it is more than that. The entire prayer is a powerful statement that loses some of its strength in translation.
*Osborne, Grant R., Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, Zondervan, 2010
I sort of got that sense myself when I briefly studied the passage, that it's not the kind of phrasing that works in English when translated very directly. Whats your takeaway from your analysis? What do we need to think about when saying the prayer?
Think of it as intense, not like something that has been ritually repeated so often that we stop thinking when we say it! After the invocation to the sanctity of the Father's name, and the initial "your" petitions, each "our" petition to the Father requests something that we must have and that we depend upon Him to provide. Between the toned-down English and the heavy ritual repetition, these meanings can be lost.
I only commented previously on the "your" petitions. There is much to say about the "our" petitions. Too much for this reply. A good Greek-level commentary is essential for understanding many things -- details that are too much to include in a sermon or a study Bible. (They may sometimes turn up in high-quality Bible study curricula, if you can even find such things.) Some of the better commentaries are written in a way that can be appreciated without knowing ancient Greek. For Matthew, I work with Osborne's Matthew commentary (citation in my previous reply).
There is also the option to learn enough Greek to be able to understand it well with the help of commentaries. Bill Mounce's _Greek for the Rest of Us_ was written for that purpose. I rely on this approach extensively, because I waited until so late in life to begin to learn the language.
I will, however, offer a taste of what's hiding behind "Give us this day our daily bread", or "τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον·" It wouldn't be that hard to translate except for that word ἐπιούσιον, which literally can be read as "necessary for existence", but is usually translated as "daily" because of the difficulties of interpreting an extremely rare word (at the time Matthew was written) that some suggest was coined for this prayer.
A possible literal translation (except for that one word) would be "Our ἐπιούσιον bread give to us today". It doesn't line up word-for-word because the adjective ἐπιούσιον is presented in second attributive position (article-noun-article-adjective), with the "our" pronoun (ἡμῶν) included within the construct (article-noun-pronoun-article-adjective). I don't know what the exact meaning of all that might be.
"Give to us today" seems straightforward for the last part. "Give" (δὸς) is in the 2nd person singular aorist active imperative. Osborne doesn't go into that detail and I won't either because I have only the vaguest of ideas. Let's just say it's not a simple, direct command to God to do something. (More on that below.)
First question, what is "bread"? Osborne (redacted for brevity): "In general “bread” stands for food and then for all a person’s needs. Its meaning is hotly debated... The majority ... take it as a metaphor for a person’s daily needs."
Second question, what is "ἐπιούσιον"? This time I am not going to redact other than to remove citation footnotes, and this part is much longer. Here goes. Osborne:
---
The most debated issue is the meaning of ἐπιούσιον. It rarely appears even in secular literature of the period and could have several meanings: (1) necessary for existence (from ἐπί + οὐσία); (2) for the current day (from ἐπὶ τὴν ουσαν [from εἰμί] ἡμέραν); (3) for the following day (from ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν [from ἐπεῖναι] ἡμέραν); (4) for the coming day (from ἐπιέναι). Those who take it eschatologically tend to accept the fourth, and those who take it of current needs opt for the third. It is best in the context to combine the second and third and to translate it as, “give us our bread for today and tomorrow.”
In terms of the Jewish prayers, the morning prayer is for today’s bread, and the evening prayer for tomorrow’s bread. This is a prayer reflecting total God-dependence. When most pray it, they think, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” But this petition actually means, “I rely on you for my daily needs.” Moreover, it reflects an attitude that takes one day at a time, reflecting the first-century day laborer who was paid one day at a time. The point is trusting God for each day’s need, reflecting faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1). With God in charge, each day is taken care of.
---
OK, that was a taste. How was it?
I was looking for more of a summary :D
But you have convinced me that I'm not ready to learn Greek!