Matthew 6:9

Matthew 6:9 is the ninth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is the opening of the Lord's Prayer, one of the best known parts of the entire New Testament.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

For additional translations see here: Matthew 6:9

The verse opens with an instruction to pray in the manner that follows. This opening makes clear that this is not a prayer to be given by Jesus himself, rather it is one to be spoken by his followers. This is important to Christian theology as the prayer mentions forgiveness for sins, and Jesus is held to be sinless. How specific Jesus' instruction is is a matter of some debate. The prayer that follows has been repeated word for word millions of times, but some scholars believe that Jesus was here giving a general guideline for what prayers should contain rather than a specific prayer. That the New Testament gives other prayers, including a similar one in Luke, is one indication that different wordings are acceptable. The New Testament also reports Jesus disciples praying on several occasions, but never describes them using this prayer.

The opening pronoun is plural, which France notes indicates that the prayer was likely intended for communal worship, rather than private repetition. The New Testament also makes clear that father is a title used by disciples to refer to God. Only those already redeemed should use it, and this prayer is thus for those already converted.

Matthew's wording here reflects that of Jewish works of this period. Luke's very similar prayer at Luke 11:2-4 far more radically has simply Father, rather than our Father, a usage unheard of in Jewish literature of the period. Matthew's our Father makes the relationship somewhat more distant, and more acceptable to Jewish sensibilities. The word translated as father is abba. This is a somewhat informal term that would have been used by young children to address their father. However, it was a term that adult children would sometimes use, and a general term of reverence for any elder male in a community. Boring writes that papa would be a more literal translation, and be closer to the sense of the original.

...
Wikipedia