The Prevailing Translation of the Lord’s Prayer is Not Arbitrary

Pope Francis recently shared his thoughts (not decree) that the translation of the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer should be revised.  R. Scott Clark, an American Reformed pastor and seminary professor, rendered these thoughts addressing the underlying problem:

“Francis’ suggestion, already adopted by French Romanists and mainline Protestants, that the translation of the Lord’s Prayer be revised to say, ‘Let us not fall into temptation’ gives the impression that the relation between the text of Holy Scripture and translation is more or less arbitrary.  This implication fuels what I perceive to be a widespread view, particularly among unbelievers and perhaps also among believers, translations of Scripture or other authoritative statements are essentially arbitrary and may be changed at will.  This suspicion, which is part of the spirit of the Late-Modern age, assumes a sort of nominalism that is simply untrue.  The nominalists argued (and their late-modern successors continue to argue) that the relation between the sign (e.g., a word) and the thing it represents, the reality, is arbitrary, a convention, an agreement, and sometimes even the product of a conspiracy.  This is why people accept the claims of writers like Dan Brown.  They suspect that someone, somewhere is just making up things and imposing their will on the rest of us.  These are all symptoms of a profound loss of confidence in the existence of objective reality.  In earlier phases of the Modernity, the essence of which has always been the assumption of human autonomy relative to all other authorities, there was a shared agreement that there is such a thing as objective reality or truth.  The debate concerned which account of reality is of correct.  One of the defining characteristics of late-modernity is the loss of confidence that there is any such thing as objective reality.  Of course, the same people who deny that there is any such thing, who assert that all claims to truth and reality are nothing but a will to power also stop at stop signs.”

The standard, prevailing translation of the Lord’s Prayer, is not arbitrary.  The relation between the original text and the traditional English translation is not merely nominal.  The translation says what it says because the original text says what it says.  The Greek text of Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4 translates most direct as, “And bring us not into temptation.”  Out of the dozens of English translations only a few (e.g., the New Living Translation) adopts a rendering approaching that suggested by Pope Francis.  The two most important terms for this discussion are “bring” and “temptation.”  This verb occurs 8 times in the New Testament.  This is the verb our Lord used when He said, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities” (Luke 12:11).  

The translation “to lead” or “to bring” in the first clause of the sixth petition is not arbitrary. This is what this word means.  It is true that the petition may be troubling.  That is often the nature of Jesus’ teaching.  He said deliberately difficult things.  Anyone who thinks Jesus’ teaching is simple has not considered it very deeply.  

As to the intent of the petition, the Heidelberg Catechism 127 is right:

127. What is the sixth petition?

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” that is: Since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand a moment, and besides, our deadly enemies, the devil, the world and our own flesh, assail us without ceasing, be pleased to preserve and strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may make firm stand against them and not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, until finally complete victory is ours.”

The urge to revise the Lord’s Prayer rests partly in a misunderstanding of it.  We are sinful.  We, not God, are the source of the problem.  In large measure the prayer is to be delivered from ourselves.  Of course, we confess the reality of the spiritual struggle against spiritual principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12).  The Evil One does go about as a lion (1 Peter 5:8).  The complete victory to which the catechism refers is the final, eschatological victory.  We are engaged in a spiritual struggle with ourselves and our own corruption of heart, mind, and will.  We are also engaged in a struggle with spiritual realities outside of us.  [read James 1:12-18]

God tempts no one and our Lord taught us to pray, “bring us not into temptation.”  James 1 is a Holy Spirit inspired commentary on the first clause of the sixth petition.  We are utterly dependent upon the Lord’s preserving grace, on which we dare not presume and, at the same time, we are the source of the corruption against which we struggle.  The Lord is not corrupt.  He neither tempts nor sins.

While the sixth petition is challenging, it is God’s Word and the traditional translation faithfully communicates the language and intent of the text and of our Lord’s own words. There is real truth in the world and the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer is part of that truth.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel