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OET (OET-LV) Therefore you_all be_praying thus:
father of_us, the one in the heavens, let_ the name of_you _be_sanctified.
OET (OET-RV) So pray like this:
⇔ ‘Our father in the heavens,
⇔ we want your name to be honoured forever.
For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Sermon on the Mountain
The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain
Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill
In this paragraph, Jesus gave his disciples a model prayer to show them how he would like them to pray. Many English speaking Christians call this prayer “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Several English versions print each part of this prayer on a different line. For example:
9Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread,
12and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
When you prepare the book of Matthew for printing, you will have to decide how to format this prayer.
So then, this is how you should pray:
¶ “Therefore, pray in this way:
¶ Jesus continued, “So, you(plur) should pray to God like this example:
¶ “I will tell you how you should pray. Say:
So then, this is how you should pray: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as So then also means “therefore” or “so” (as in the NET). This conjunction introduces the conclusion to what was said in 6:7–8. The words that follow in 6:9b–13 are an example of how to pray.
this: The pronoun this refers ahead to the whole prayer in 6:9b–13.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
So you should pray like this: (NJB)
Therefore, when you pray to God, here is the way to do it:
So, when you talk to God, say this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
‘Our(excl) Father in heaven,
‘God our(excl) Father who is/lives in heaven,
Our Father: Here Jesus addressed God as Our Father. If it is not clear that Jesus was referring to God, you may need to make it explicit. For example:
Our Father God
God our Father
in heaven: The words in heaven refer to God living there.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
who is/lives in heaven
God our heavenly Father
Verses 6:9c–13b are a series of requests to God. In Greek, these requests are third person commands. In some languages, when praying to a deity, requests are expressed very politely. For example:
We pray/request that your name be hallowed
Our request is that your name be hallowed
Please help us to hallow your name
You should translate these requests in a way that is natural for people making requests to God.
hallowed be Your name.
may your(sing) name be honored.
we pray that people will honor/respect your name.
please cause everyone to honor you(sing).
hallowed be Your name: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as hallowed be Your name is a prayer. It is a prayer that God would cause his name to be recognized/honored as holy. In some languages there may be a more natural way to begin a prayer. For example:
May your holy name be honored (GNT)
we pray/ask that your name be recognized as holy
In some languages it may be more natural to remove the passive verb and say who should honor the name of God. It is possible to supply either “we/us” or “everyone.” For example:
help us to honor your name (CEV)
we pray that everyone will honor your name.
hallowed be: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as hallowed comes from the same Greek word as “holy.” It means “make or cause something to be holy.”
This verb is passive. The text does not specify who should make God’s name holy. This action involves both God and people. God makes his name holy by revealing to people that he is holy. He is completely perfect and sinless and is worthy of awe. People make God’s name holy by honoring or treating him as the holy God who deserves their worship and obedience.
If possible, translate this clause in a way that both God and people can be understood as the ones who make God’s name holy. Here are some other ways to do this:
Use a passive verb, as in the previous two examples.
Use an active verb. For example:
cause people to recognize that your name is holy
reveal to everyone that you are holy so that they will recognize you as the only God
help us to honor your name (CEV)
If you need to specify that either God or people are the ones who make God’s name holy, it is recommended that you specify people. For example:
we pray that all people would honor/respect your holy name
may all people recognize that you are holy
Your name: In Jewish thinking, a person’s name represented the person himself. When people honored someone’s name, it was the same as honoring him. If this would not be understood in your language, it may be necessary to translate the meaning of name. For example:
may you be honored as the holy God
may people treat you with the respect you deserve as God
we ask that you will cause men to say, “You are holy”
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
οὖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὕτως Οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τό ὄνομα σοῦ)
Here, the word Therefore introduces the conclusion to what Jesus has said about prayer in [6:5–8](../06/05.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different word that introduces a conclusion, or you could leave Therefore untranslated. Alternate translation: [So then] or [In the end]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
Πάτερ ἡμῶν
Father ˱of˲_us
This is a figurative expression. God is not the Father of humans in the same actual way that he is the Father of Jesus. Even so, it would probably be best to translate Father with the same word that your language would naturally use to refer to a human father. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that this means God. Alternate translation: [God, who is our Father]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
ἡμῶν
˱of˲_us
By Our, Jesus means himself and his disciples, so use the inclusive form of that word in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς
the_‹one› in the heavens
Here, the phrase in the heavens identifies the location in which God the Father is specially present and from which he rules. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [who is in the heavens]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου
˓let_be˒_sanctified (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὕτως Οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τό ὄνομα σοῦ)
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [we want your name to be made holy] or [we pray that your name is made holy]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου
˓let_be˒_sanctified (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὕτως Οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τό ὄνομα σοῦ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [let people treat your name as holy] or [let people regard your name as holy]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τὸ ὄνομά σου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὕτως Οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τό ὄνομα σοῦ)
Here, the word name refers primarily to the person who has that name, and it focuses especially on who that person is. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [you yourself] or [who you are]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
σου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὕτως Οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τό ὄνομα σοῦ)
Since Jesus is praying to God the Father, the word your here is singular.
OET (OET-LV) Therefore you_all be_praying thus:
father of_us, the one in the heavens, let_ the name of_you _be_sanctified.
OET (OET-RV) So pray like this:
⇔ ‘Our father in the heavens,
⇔ we want your name to be honoured forever.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.