ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Matthew 6.8-10
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Passage

Matthew 6.8-10

Book: Matthew · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. 7. And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

  1. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:6-12, ASV)
WEB

6. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7. In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.

8. Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him. 9. Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

  1. Give us today our daily bread. 12. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:6-12, WEB)
KJV

6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

  1. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:6-12, KJV)
YLT

6. 'But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly. 7. 'And, praying, ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard,

8. be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him; 9. thus therefore pray ye: 'Our Father who [art] in the heavens! hallowed be Thy name. 10. 'Thy reign come: Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.

  1. 'Our appointed bread give us to-day. 12. 'And forgive us our debts, as also we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:6-12, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Jesus
  • Audience: His disciples, with the crowds listening (5:1-2; 7:28)
  • Location: "a mountain" in Galilee (5:1), traditionally placed near Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee
  • Time period: C. AD 28-30, during Jesus' Galilean ministry

Theological reading

"Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:8-10, KJV).

A Father who knows, then a pattern to pray. The "therefore" in verse 9 links the two halves. Because the Father already knows what we need, prayer does not have to be long or clever: "After this manner therefore pray ye."

Our Father. Jesus teaches his followers to address God as he did. The plural "our" makes the prayer communal: no one prays it as a lone individual. "Which art in heaven" keeps the intimacy from collapsing into familiarity; the Father is near and also above.

Hallowed. To hallow the name is to treat God as holy and to ask that he be honoured as holy everywhere, the hope of Ezekiel 36:23, "I will sanctify my great name."

Prayer as trust, not technique. The New Age Spirituality vs the Christian God comparison cites these verses as a whole: the alternative to manifestation is not passivity but asking a Father who knows and submitting to his will. See Matthew 6.8, Matthew 6.10 and Lord's Prayer.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.