I appreciate Mike for pointing out these aspects of this important passage. I do confess that Humility and Praying are two of my Spiritual struggles. My wife keeps working on me on that first one and the Pastor in the little Reformed church I’ve started to attend and who runs a real “Bible” study is helping on the second. We always close the night with a prayer and as custom one of the men is asked to pray….that’s actually helped to bring me into a fully complementarian which unfortunately directly puts me into conflict with the larger EPC church my wife and I have been members in for almost 40 years…(that’s a longer discussion)

Prayer Fasting and Forgiveness

Personally I’ve often thought of our daily bread and you add the word “today” in very specific no “food” terms, that is if there is some particular concern or need or issue I’m dealing with, I will specifically put that forward as the bread that I am praying for today. At the least is reminds me that God is sovereign and has all our needs in mind. The outcome is in his hands and I need not worry.

Mike didn’t mention it but the old versions using the word Debts, and they can be many, are quite rich. Would make a good word study. The old John Gill commentary says:

Matthew 6:12

And forgive us our debts,…. Nothing is more frequent in the Jewish writings than to call sins חובי, “debts”; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men. Thus the prayer of Solomon is paraphrased (y) by the Targumist:

“and hear thou the petition of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make before this place; and do thou receive it from the place of the house of thy Shekinah, from heaven; and do thou accept their prayer ותשבק לחוביהון, “and forgive their debts”.”

Luke 11:4

And forgive us our sins,…. Beza’s most ancient copy reads “debts”, as in See Gill on Mat 6:12; and which best agrees with the phrase “indebted”, after mentioned:

Debts, Sins, Trespasses there is a lot of overlap there.

BTW….as much as I appreciate Mike’s good translation of the Greek text, I found that I didn’t actually need another translation of the Lord’s Prayer. To me I will be just content with the Old KJV or Geneva Versions of Matthew 6:9-13 the way I’ve memorized it. Often I will go through the KJV one word at a time, stopping to reflect on why the expert scholars and theologians from the early Protestant days chose a particular word and what meaning and dimension it has.

If Mike reads that comment hopefully, I don’t receive any heat seeking missles!

KJV (note we often forget that first phrase.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:13  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.

Geneva

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye, Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done even in earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 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.

Pretty much the same Geneva text was used in the KJV.

Which goes back to the Tyndale Bible which this year is 500 years old….I didn’t modernize the spelling….

Matthew 6:9-13

9 After thys maner therfore praye ye. O oure father which arte in heve halowed be thy name.

10 Let thy kyngdome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled as well in erth as it ys in heven.

11 Geve vs this daye oure dayly breede.

12 And forgeve vs oure treaspases eve as we forgeve oure trespacers.

13 And leade vs not into teptacion: but delyver vs fro evell. For thyne is ye kyngedome and ye power and ye glorye for ever. Amen.