Bible facts
The Lord’s Prayer: full text, where it is in the Bible and its meaning
The Lord’s Prayer (or “Our Father”) is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. It is found in Matthew 6:9–13, in the Sermon on the Mount, and in a shorter form in Luke 11:2–4. It opens with an address (“Our Father, which art in heaven”) followed by seven petitions: three about God (name, kingdom, will) and four about human needs (bread, forgiveness, temptation, evil).
What are the words of the Lord’s Prayer?
This is the traditional form from the Book of Common Prayer, still widely used in English-speaking churches:
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Catholics usually pray it without the final line (“For thine is the kingdom…”) and use “who art” and “those who trespass against us”.
Where is the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible?
In two Gospels. In Matthew 6:9–13, Jesus teaches the prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, right after warning against praying to be seen:
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. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
In Luke 11:2–4, the prayer answers a disciple’s request: “Lord, teach us to pray”. Luke’s version is shorter in the oldest manuscripts:
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
What does each line of the Lord’s Prayer mean?
- “Our Father”: Jesus called God Abba, the Aramaic word for “Father”, a close and familiar form. “Our” makes it a community prayer, not only a private one.
- “Hallowed be thy name”: a request that God be recognized and honored.
- “Thy kingdom come”: the hope that God will reign over the world, the core of Jesus’ preaching.
- “Thy will be done”: placing one’s plans in God’s hands, as Jesus did in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).
- “Our daily bread”: the Greek word epiousios hardly occurs outside the Gospels. It may mean “needed”, “for today” or “for tomorrow”.
- “Forgive us our debts”: Matthew says “debts”, Luke says “sins”. Right afterward, Jesus links the forgiveness we receive with the forgiveness we give (Matthew 6:14–15).
- “Lead us not into temptation”: a plea for protection in times of testing.
- “Deliver us from evil”: the Greek can mean “from evil” or “from the evil one”.
Why do some versions end with “For thine is the kingdom”?
This closing line, called the doxology, is not in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew. It appears in an early Christian text from the first or second century, the Didache, and was later added to copies of the Gospel. That is why the KJV includes it while most modern translations put it in a footnote. At Catholic Mass, the people say it after a short prayer by the priest.
How each tradition prays the Lord’s Prayer
- Catholics: prayed at every Mass before Communion and at the start of each decade of the Rosary. The Catechism devotes its entire final section to it.
- Orthodox: sung by the whole congregation in the Divine Liturgy; the priest concludes with the doxology.
- Protestants: used in worship and as a model for personal prayer, usually with the doxology.
- Jewish tradition: several petitions have parallels in Jewish prayers, such as the Kaddish, which begins by asking that God’s name be sanctified and his kingdom established.
For more on this topic, see our Bible verses about prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible?
In Matthew 6:9–13, in the Sermon on the Mount, and in a shorter form in Luke 11:2–4.
Why does it say “trespasses” instead of “debts”?
“Trespasses” comes from William Tyndale’s 1526 translation and entered the Book of Common Prayer. The KJV and the Greek text of Matthew say “debts”.
What is the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer?
It first puts God at the center (name, kingdom, will) and then brings human needs to him: bread, forgiveness and protection from evil.
Is “For thine is the kingdom” in the Bible?
It is in later manuscripts of Matthew and in the KJV, but not in the oldest manuscripts. It comes from early Christian worship.