Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 6:5-15)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 6:5-15:

When you pray, don’t prattle and rattle like hypocrites —
those prancing pious porkers, seeking praise in a pigsty.
       Earthly praise is their full reward.

Keep your prayer life between you and God alone!
Your Father above knows everything.
       So be patient! Your reward is waiting for you.

No need to prattle and rattle when you pray.
       Such prayers irritate the ears of God.

Your Father already knows what you need,
so pray like this:
       Father above, help us to honor your name.
       Let us see you rule on earth, as you rule in heaven.
              Then everyone will obey you down here,
                     just as you are obeyed up there.

       Provide us with food for this day
              and forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others.

       Don’t test us beyond our strength,
              and protect us from evil.

Forgive others when you are mistreated,
       then your Father above will forgive you.
Fail to forgive others, and you won’t be forgiven.

Father (address for God)

The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”

If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

Translation commentary on Matthew 6:14 – 6:15

The same truth is stated in each of these two verses, first negatively (verse 14), then positively (verse 15). A parallel to the positive form appears in Mark 11.25, and some commentators call attention to the similarity between these two verses and Matthew 7.1 (see Luke 6.37), and to their agreement with Matthew 5.22, 45, 48.

Jesus here adds a short comment on the words about forgiveness in verse 12. Revised Standard Version has the transition For. Some languages will not need any transition. For example, Good News Translation in English does not have one. Others will say something like “You can pray like that because.”

We discussed forgive in verse 12.

The Greek word translated trespasses (Good News Translation “wrongs”) is found in Matthew only in these two verses. Elsewhere in the Gospels it is used only once (Mark 11.25; and in some manuscripts in 11.26). Outside the Gospels it appears only in the letters of Paul (Rom 4.25; 5.15, 16, 17, 18, 20; 11.11, 12; 2 Cor 5.19; Gal 6.1; Eph 1.7; 2.1; 2.5; Col 2.13). The word literally means “stepping aside” and is rendered “false step, transgression, sin” by one of the standard lexicons. If you forgive men (Good News Translation “others”) their trespasses is translated “For if you forgive men when they sin against you” by New International Version. New American Bible uses “faults” and New Jerusalem Bible “failings” (Phillips “failures”). However, in the present context a wrong or sin against someone is definitely indicated. This is made clear by your trespasses, which clearly means “your wrongs against your (heavenly) Father.” Trespasses that people commit against you can be “wrongs” or “harm they do you.” Your trespasses, as we explained, refers to “the wrongs you commit against God” or “your sins.” Translators should find Good News Translation or New International Version (cited above) helpful models. “If you forgive people when they do wrong to you” or “If you forgive people for the wrongs they do to you.”

For God to forgive you depends on your forgiving others. This must be clear, as in “then in his turn God your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins” or “then in the same way, your heavenly Father will forgive you your sins.” The same relation holds true in verse 15: “But if you fail to forgive other people when they do wrong to you, your heavenly Father will not forgive you either for your sins against him.”

For comments on heavenly Father, see 5.16.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 6:14

Paragraph 6:14–15

And lastly, Jesus taught that when his disciples pray for God to forgive them, they must also forgive others (6:14–15). The understanding is that if they do not forgive others, then God will not forgive them.

6:14a

For: Verses 6:14–15 are the reason why we can ask God to forgive us (in 6:12). The Greek indicates that these verses are the reason with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For.

Jesus taught us to pray 12a“Forgive us our debts…for/because 14byour heavenly Father will forgive you 14aif you forgive others their trespasses.”

Since 6:13 comes between the two parts about forgiveness, it may be necessary to make the connection more clear. For example:

⌊You should pray for God to forgive you⌋ for/because
-or-

⌊Pray this way⌋ because

Many English versions do not translate this word. In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate this word either.

if you forgive: The word forgive is the same word as in 6:12a. For help in translating this word, see the notes there.

men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to people in general.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

other people
-or-
people

their trespasses: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as trespasses is another word for “sins.”

Here are some other ways to translate their trespasses:

when they sin against you (New International Version)
-or-
the wrongs they have done to you (Good News Translation)
-or-
the bad things that they have done ⌊against you⌋

6:14b

your heavenly Father: The phrase your heavenly Father refers to God. It is very similar to the phrase “Our Father in heaven” in 6:9b.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

⌊God⌋ your heavenly Father

-or-

⌊God⌋ your Father ⌊who is/lives⌋ in heaven

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