The Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer, known also as the Our Father or Pater noster[1], is a form of prayer specifically established by Jesus himself. Its most familiar English form, in the King James translation of the Bible, is as follows.

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 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.

AMEN

(Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)

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The Lord's Prayer is by far the best known prayer among Christians worldwide, and has been translated into hundreds of different languages. It is worth remarking, however, that while Jesus himself specifically instructs His followers to pray in private, this prayer is frequently recited in public, and has been incorporated into the services and liturgy of many Christian denominations:

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

(Matthew 6:5-7 KJV)

Greek version

In Greek the Lord's Prayer is called Πάτερ Ἡμῶν; in Latin its name is Pater Noster. Two versions are found in the New Testament: one in the Gospel of Matthew and the other in the Gospel of Luke.

Though both are substantially the same there are slight differences.

The prayer as found in Ἐυαγγελίον κατὰ Μαθθαίον (Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine):

6:9 Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς:

Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐω τοῖς οὐρανοῖς

ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου

6:10 ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου

γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου

ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς

6:11 τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον

6:12 καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν,

ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ¹ τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν

6:13 καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,

ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.

1. sometimes the present form ἀφίεμεν is found in place of the perfective ἀφήκαμεν.

See also

• Rosary
• Hail Mary