Luke 11:1-2

Instructions on Prayer

11:1 Now¹ Jesus² was praying in a certain place. When³ he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John⁴ taught⁵ his disciples.” 11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray,⁶ say:

Father,⁷ may your name be honored;⁸

may your kingdom come.⁹

¹tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

²tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁴sn John refers to John the Baptist.

⁵sn It was not unusual for Jewish groups to have their own prayer as a way of expressing corporate identity. Judaism had the Eighteen Benedictions and apparently John the Baptist had a prayer for his disciples as well.

⁶sn When you pray. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

⁷tc Most mss, including later majority (A C D W Θ Ψ 070 Ë¹³ 33^vid Ï it), add ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Jhmwn Jo en toi" oujranoi", “our [Father] in heaven”) here. This makes the prayer begin like the version in Matt 6:9. The shorter version is read by Ì⁷⁵ א B (L: + ἡμῶν) 1 700 pc as well as some versions and fathers. Given this more weighty external evidence, combined with the scribal tendency to harmonize Gospel parallels, the shorter reading is preferred.

sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “Daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.

⁸tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

⁹tc Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ 070 Ë¹³ 33^vid Ï it) read at the end of the verse “may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven,” making this version parallel to Matt 6:10. The shorter reading is found, however, in weighty mss (Ì⁷⁵ B L pc), and cannot be easily explained as arising from the longer reading.

sn Your kingdom come represents the hope for the full manifestation of God’s promised rule.