let us not be led
Day before yesterday, a member of our adult Sunday School class showed me a newspaper article saying the Pope approved a change to our English translation of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, from “lead us not into temptation” to “do not let us fall into temptation”. I agree, although to keep its traditional feeling, I might phrase it “let us not be led into temptation”.
Hardly ever have I gotten through a confirmation class without someone asking the question, raising the issue, “Lead us not into temptation”? What are we saying here? Do we believe our loving God deliberately leads us into temptation? What does this mean, what’s the theology of it? Are we saying God actually tempts us, tests us, tries to trick us? Some divine sting operation?”
It’s all valid, the concern, question, challenge is perfectly valid. And so is the literal translation from the Greek, Matthew (6:13a) and Luke (11:4b). It’s not in Mark, indicating, some scholars would say, that it’s from (hypothetical) Sayings Gospel Q.
In their SV (Scholars Version) translation, the Jesus Seminar has it, rather appealingly I think, “And please don’t subject us to test after test.” Fair enough rendition of what the Greek text has!
Whatever Jesus actually said, as we understand him to have spoken Aramaic, not New Testament Greek, is lost to the ages. But there is an Aramaic language New Testament, available online (albeit still translated from the NT Greek, I suppose), so I looked at that, copy and pasted Matthew 4:13 below (scroll down). It also is appealing, including theologically in that it puts, as the Pope also does, the onus not on a seeming mendacious divinity’s artifice, trickery, disingenuousness, but on us.
No scholar, but enjoying the search, below the Aramaic text and literal English translation are notes I took as I went along, looking first at the moon going low into the western horizon, and then at the puddle results of an early rain shower.
The moon reminds me, pic above, that a few days ago we got an early morning shot of it in near conjunction with Jupiter.
Aramaic Bible Matthew 6:13 ܘܠܐ ܬܥܠܢ ܠܢܣܝܘܢܐ ܐܠܐ ܦܨܢ ܡܢ ܒܝܫܐ ܡܛܠ ܕܕܝܠܟ ܗܝ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܘܚܝܠܐ ܘܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ ܠܥܠܡ ܥܠܡܝܢ
13 And don’t let us enter into nesyuna {testing}, but rather, deliver us from biysha {evil}, because Yours is The Malkutha {The Kingdom}, and The Khayla {The Power}, and The Theshbukhtha {The Glory}, unto alam almiyn {everlasting eternities}.’
Matthew 6:9-13
9 Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread;
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
13 And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:13a καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν
Luke 11:2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread; 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.”
Luke 11:4b καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν.
Matthew and Luke are identical.
εἰσενέγκῃς verb: aorist subjunctive active, second person singular. (I suppose as a minimum changing the Greek word from active to passive, "let us not be led", IDK?)
εἰσ
ενέγκῃς
Original Word: εἰσφέρω I lead into, I bring in
from eis and pheró
eis preposition into, in, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among.
pheró verb to bear, carry, bring forth
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/06/led-not-into-temptation-pope-approves-change-to-lords-prayer
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/06/our-father-pope-francis-approves-changes-words-lords-prayer/1366459001/
https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-francis-lords-prayer-our-father-change
Pope Francis reportedly approved changes to the wording of the Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father.
Instead of saying, "Lead us not into temptation," Catholics will say, "Do not let us fall into temptation," The Guardian and Fox News reported.
The Pope said he thought the English translation of the prayer was not correct.
"It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation," he told Italy’s TV2000 channel in 2017, per The Guardian. "I am the one who falls. It’s not him pushing me into temptation to then see how I have fallen.
"A father doesn’t do that; a father helps you to get up immediately. It’s Satan who leads us into temptation, that’s his department."
https://www.ucatholic.com/news/pope-francis-approves-changes-to-lords-prayer-gloria-of-italian-missal/
Pope Francis has approved a revision third edition of the Italian Missal, including changes to the Lord’s Prayer and Gloria.
On May 22nd during the General Assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Italy, President Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti announced the approval of a third edition of the Messale Romano. The revised translation will include changes to the Lord’s Prayer and Gloria.
The Lord’s Prayer will change from “and lead us not into temptation” to “do not let us fall into temptation.”
The Gloria will change from “Peace on earth to people of good will” to “Peace on Earth to people beloved by God.”
The changes to the Italian Missal was a 16 year undertaking with aims to “contribute to the renewal of the ecclesial community in the wake of the liturgical reform.”
“Bishops and experts worked on improving the text from a theological, pastoral and stylistic point of view, as well as on fine-tuning the presentation of the Missal.”
The upcoming change has received confirmatio from the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, recognition of the decisions made by bishop’s conferences. In the upcoming months the 3rd Edition of the Messale Romano will be printed and available for use.