11:25a
And: Here Jesus added another important teaching about prayer. Some English versions indicate this with the word And. Other versions indicate it by starting a new paragraph. In some languages it may be necessary to supply a word such as “also” or “moreover.” These may help to make clear that Jesus is now teaching about a different aspect of prayer.
when you stand to pray: The main idea here is pray. The expression stand to pray refers to the fact that in Jesus’ time people usually stood when they prayed. Jesus was not teaching here that a person must stand to pray.
If the word stand causes people to misunderstand the meaning of what Jesus taught here, you should state the meaning more directly. For example, the God’s Word says:
Whenever you pray
In some languages it may be helpful to include a footnote about this issue. For example:
The Greek text literally says “when you stand to pray.” People in that culture often stood when they prayed. In this verse Jesus was talking about praying in general. He did not refer only to the times when people are standing to pray.
pray: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pray means “talking to God.” In certain verses, some languages may use different words to refer to specific kinds of prayer, such as requests, thanks, or praise. Here you should use a word or expression that has a general meaning such as “speaking” or “talking.” Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.
11:25b
if you hold anything against another, forgive it: The Berean Standard Bible states Jesus’ command, forgive it, after the condition, if you hold anything against another. In the Greek, the command occurs first, then the condition: “forgive if you have something against someone.” You should use the order that is most natural in your language.
In some languages it may be more natural to express the meaning of if you hold anything against another in another way. For example, the following examples do not express it as a condition:
forgive anything you have against anyone (God’s Word)
-or-
forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against (New Living Translation)
if you hold anything against another: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hold anything against another is very general. It refers to any way that another person may have offended you. It includes anything that a person did that you may resent. It also includes quarrels with another person or complaints about him or her. Try to use a general expression that refers to problems of this kind with another person. For example:
if you have a grievance against anyone (Revised English Bible)
-or-
if you are angry with someone (New Century Version)
forgive: In this context the word forgive is a command. It means that a person must stop being angry, hateful, or resentful toward anyone who has offended him. The person must also decide not to take revenge for the offense.
Here are some other ways to translate forgive in this context:
pardon
-or-
erase the guilt of someone
-or-
forget/cancel the wrong/injury
In some languages, the idea of forgive is expressed by an idiom.
11:25c
so that: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that introduces the purpose for 11:25b. In other words, a person should forgive others (11:25b) in order that God may forgive that person’s sins (11:25c). Use an expression here that introduces a purpose. In some languages it is difficult to distinguish purpose from future result. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use an expression that introduces a result. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.
your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well: The clause your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well is similar to the preceding clause “forgive him” (11:25b). The Berean Standard Bible and many other versions make the similarity explicit by translating a word in the Greek text as “as well” or “also.” Other versions leave this similarity implicit. For example, the New International Version says:
…your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
It may be helpful to make the similarity between 11:25b and 11:25c explicit. If that is true in your language, you may use a word like “also,” as the NET Bible does.
your Father in heaven: The expression your Father in heaven refers to God. Here the word heaven refers to the place where God lives.
heaven: See how you translated the word heaven in 1:11a. See also heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.
will forgive your trespasses as well: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will forgive can also be translated as “may forgive.” For example, the New International Version says:
may forgive (A note in the NET Bible Bible here says, “Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ´na (hina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., ‘may,’ so King James Version, New American Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (‘may’ = ‘has permission to’) or as indicating uncertainty (‘may’ = ‘might’ or ‘may or may not’). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (‘will,’ so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.”)
The phrase will forgive your trespasses as well means that God will choose not to punish you for the evil things that you have done and thought. God will cancel your guilt and treat you as though you have not offended him.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
will also pardon you for your sins
-or-
will also erase your guilt
-or-
will forget/cancel your sins
trespasses: The word trespasses refers to offenses against God. Trespasses include acts, thoughts, and attitudes that are not what God wants or approves. (In Greek, the verb that English versions translate as sin is also a term that is used in archery to mean “miss the target.” When a person sins, he “misses” the target, that is, he fails to reach God’s standard.) A person can also offend God by not doing what God wants him to do.
It is helpful to translate trespasses with a general term that can include any offense against God. Here are problems to avoid:
(a) The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are trespasses. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also trespasses.
(b) The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.
Here are some other ways to translate trespasses:
sins (New International Version)
-or-
offenses against God
-or-
evil deeds
In some languages it may be natural to translate trespasses with a phrase that includes a verb. For example:
wrong things that you have done
Although the Greek word here is different than the word in 1:4d that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “sin,” the concept is the same and you may want to use the same word here.
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