Introduction
This paper is not meant to be any Biblical revelation. I am writing it because, in exploring the Lord’s Prayer, I found its language history to be very interesting. After all, it is probably the most widely recited prayer globally. In taking the Lord’s Prayer for granted, we seldom realize it has a unique history of its own. Let’s see how it reads in other languages. Here are examples of the Lord’s Prayer from Jesus’s mouth in Aramaic to various English interpretations and a couple of surprises.
Note, while you are reading, that the first complete translation of the entire Bible into English was Wycliffe’s Bible, released in the late 1300s.
Definitions
Aramaic
A language spoken in the book of Daniel, Ezra, and parts of the New Testament. It is said that Aramaic, also referred to as Imperial Aramaic, became the language of the ordinary people of Galilee in the time of Jesus.
Deism
A highly moral 17th-century system of belief that God can be found through natural reason. He created the universe and left it to operate under the natural laws He created. There is little intervention by God with mankind.
Didiche
Didachē is the oldest surviving Christian theological literature, written in the 2nd century. It covers morals, church practice, and the Second Coming of Christ, and is considered a work of patristic literature.
The Lord’s Prayer in English Versions
| Old English | Middle English | Modern English |
| Fæder ure şu şe eart on heofonum, | Oure fadir şat art in heuenes | Our father which art in heaven, |
| si şin nama gehalgod. | halwid be şi name; | hallowed be thy name. |
| to becume şin rice, | şi reume or kyngdom come to be. | Thy kingdom come. |
| gewurşe ğin willa, | Be şi wille don | Thy will be done |
| on eorğan swa swa on heofonum. | in herşe as it is dounin heuene. | in earth as it is in heaven. |
| urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg, | yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred. | Give us this day our daily bread. |
| and forgyf us ure gyltas, | And foryeue to us oure dettis şat is oure synnys | And forgive us our trespasses |
| swa swa we forgyfağ urum gyltendum. | as we foryeuen to oure dettouris şat is to men şat han synned in us. | as we forgive those who trespass against us. |
| and ne gelæd şu us on costnunge, | And lede us not into temptacion | And lead us not into temptation, |
| ac alys us of yfele soşlice. | but delyuere us from euyl. | but deliver us from evil. |
Note: Middle English represents the diverse set of English language dialects in use between approximately 1150 to 1470 AD. Notable examples in literature are the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343 to 1400) and William Langland (c. 1332 to c. 1386). Middle English is superseded by Early Modern English and the standardization of the English language.
Also, there is an Early Modern English (Tyndale AD 1526) that reads as so:
O oure father which ate in heven hallowed by thy name; let thy kingdom come; thy wyll be fulfilled as well in erth as hit ys in heven; geve vs this daye oure dayly breade; and forgeve vs oure treaspases, even as we forgeve them which treaspas vs; leede vs not into temptacion but delyvre vs ffrom yvell For thyne is the kingdomand the power and the glorye forever. Amen
Aramaic as Jesus spoke it (Click here for source.)
| Aramaic* | English Translation |
| Abwoon d’bwashmaya | O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos/ you create all that moves in light. |
| Nethqadash shmakh | Focus your light within us – make it useful: as the rays of a beacon show the way. |
| Teytey malkuthakh | Create your reign of unity now – through our fiery hearts and willing hands. |
| Nehwey sebyanach aykanna d’bwashmaya aph b’arha. | Your one desire then acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms. |
| Habwlan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana. | Grant what we need each day in bread and insight: subsistence for the call of growing life. |
| Washboqlan khaubayn (wakhtahayn) aykana daph khnan shbwoqan l’khayyabayn. | Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt. |
| Wela tahlan l’nesyuna | Don’t let us enter forgetfulness |
| Ela patsan min bisha. | But free us from unripeness |
| Metol dilakhie malkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l’ahlam almin. | From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do, the song that beautifies all, from age to age it renews. |
| Ameyn. | Truly – power to these statements– may they be the source from which all my actions grow. Sealed in trust & faith. Amen |
*There is some controversy over Jesus speaking the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic. Many feel He spoke “Imperial Aramaic,” as was written in parts of the books of Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezra. It is not my intention to get into this controversy. The Aramaic in the Lord’s Prayer is very poetic and can be beautifully sung in Aramaic.
Up until about the seventh century AD, Aramaic was the lingua franca of Egypt and most of Western Asia. (The “lingua franca” is a common language used to communicate between people who have different primary languages, or “mother tongues.”) It is generally accepted that Christ spoke in Aramaic. In addition to the formal, written Aramaic of the time, there are also known to be seven dialects in use in first-century Judea. Galilean Aramaic was the dialect of Jesus’s home region.
Latin – the Pater Noster (Click here for more.) https://www.lords-prayer-words.com/lord_latin_pater_noster.html
PATER noster, qui es in cœlis; sanctificetur nomen tuum: Adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cœlo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie: Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris: et ne nos inducas in tentationem: sed libera nos a malo. (Catechism of the Catholic Church) to which the doxology may be added:- Quia tuum est regnum, et potestas, et Gloria, in saecula. Amen.
More Information (click here for source)
Latin remains the official language of the Holy See and the Vatican City-State. The Vatican City is the only place in the world which has an ATM with Latin instructions! Although the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) permitted the Mass to be conducted in the vernacular language, Latin remains the official language of the Roman Catholic Mass, and as such, the Lord’s Prayer cited above (without the doxology written at the end) is the official liturgical version (taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church). However, in most parts of the world, except for the Vatican, the Lord’s prayer is generally spoken in the language indigenous to the community.
Note: Latin is a very precise language, somewhat like Greek. A proverb says “The Greeks have a word for it” is true of Latin also. What is written is exactly what it means, unlike English where there are many meanings for the same word and many words with the same meaning, this is not true of Latin and Greek, and possibly true of paleo Hebrew.
Benjamin Franklin
This came as a surprise to me. Benjamin Franklin was always considered a Diest but his rendition of the Lord’s Pray does not reflect this. You be the judge.
“Heavenly Father, may all revere thee, and become thy dutiful children and faithful subjects.
May thy laws be obeyed on earth, as perfectly as they are in heaven.
Provide for us this day, as thou hast hitherto daily done.
Forgive us our trespasses, and enable us to forgive those who offend us. Keep us out of temptation, and deliver us from evil.”
There is More
The following translations are interesting. Few people know that there are highly developed languages often used in movies as in “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Trek” movies. I list these not meaning to belittle the Lord’s Prayer at all, but to recognize that the translators thought enough of the Lord’s Prayer that they wanted to translate it into their language.
The Lord’s Prayer in Quenya – Elvish tongue.
| Quenya (Elvin) | English |
| Attolma I menelessie, mai airitainieva esselya | Our Father who is in heaven, be it that will be hallowed thy name. |
| Nai ardalya tuluva. | Be it that thy kingdom will come. |
| Nai irelya tyarnnieva mardesse ve menelesse. | Be it that thy desire will be done on earth as in heaven. |
| Ata men sire ilyaurea mastalma. | Give (to) us today daily our bread. |
| Ar nai utukuvalye me mailenna | And be it that thou will not leasd us into overmastering desire |
| na finu me ulkallo. Amen | but release us from evil. Amen |
For more information (Click here)
More information. The Átaremma (“Our Father” in Quenya) is J. R. R. Tolkien’s translation of the Lord’s Prayer. Six different versions of the prayer were published in Vinyar Tengwar, In the early drafts, Tolkien used menel to express “sky”, but in the sixth and final version of the prayer he wrote i ëa han ea, literally “who art beyond the Universe”. This highlights Tolkien’s desire to distinguish in Quenya the physical sky and the metaphysical heaven, following the modern Christian theology.
The Lord’s Prayer in Klingon
Klingon has been built up into a full functional language with a written form, literature, plays, operas, translations of The Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, and even dictionaries. There are now estimated to be 50,000 to 100,000 people who are fluent in the language. Below is The Lord’s Prayer in spoken Klingon.
| Klingon | English |
| ngeHbejDungDaq vavma’ | above the cosmos, our Father |
| quvtaH ponglIj | Your name is/continues to be honored. |
| pawlI’ wo’lIj | Your empire is in the progress of arriving |
| Qu’lIj pIrInqang | Your task we are willing to complete |
| pupbeHchoHlI’ yuQ | The planet is ready/becomes/continues to be perfect |
| HIjtaH sojmaj | Our food, continue to deliver |
| not bortaS junej | You never seek us for revenge |
| vaj not bortas Dinejlu’ | as we never seek revenge on others |
| ghotlhu’moHbe’ | (you) Do not tempt us |
| mIghwI’vo’ jupol | you keep/save us from one who is evil |
| reH wo’ je HoS je batlh Daghaj | Always the empire, the power, the strength are yours |
A Point of Interest
The BAHAULLAH is a SHORT KLINGON OBLIGATORY PRAYER,
| Klingon | English Translation |
| — BAHA’U’LLAH JOH’A’WI’, KASOVMEH ‘EJ KANADMEH ‘EJ KATOY’MEH COCENMOHPU’ ‘E’ VIMAK. JIHOSGAJHA’ ‘EJ BIHOSGAJKU’; JIMIPHA’ ‘EJ BIMIPKU’ DAH ‘E’ VIMAK. QUN SOH NEH; LAX QUN TU’LU’BE’. QOBDAK BIQAH, ‘EJ BITAH’EGMOH. joH’a’wI’, qaSovmeH ‘ej qanaDmeH ‘ej qatoy’meH chochenmoHpu’ ‘e’ vImaq. jIHoSghajHa’ ‘ej bIHoSghajqu’; jImIpHa’ ‘ej bImIpqu’ DaH ‘e’ vImaq. Qun SoH neH; latlh Qun tu’lu’be’. QobDaq bIQaH, ‘ej bItaH’eghmoH. — baHa’u’llaH |
My Great-Lord, in order that I know you and in order that I commend and serve you, you have made me, this I proclaim. I am un-powerful and you are very powerful; I am un-rich and you are very rich, this I now proclaim. You only are God; there isn’t another God. In danger you help, and you cause yourself to continue. |
Conclusion
There is much, much, much, more I can write but I thought that this may spark an interest in some readers to do further study via. Google or other sources. The point being that the Lord’s Prayer has a history of its own that should not be taken for granted. It is, after all, the words of Jesus teaching us how to pray regardless of the year we were born, our culture or our heritage. It is an extremely important prayer. The Didache (discipleship teachings of the Apostles) reflects that it should be prayed at least three (3) times daily. It should be prayed often.
Enough Said
“Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
