This week, there was news of the Pope’s desire to modify the language of the Lord’s Prayer (also called the “Model Prayer” ). This actually followed news of French Catholics wanting to change the prayer. First, are they justified in this? To answer this, we have to examine the text. Second, given that they are not (which I will argue that they are not), we certainly have to confront whether God leads us into temptation and what that means. The text in question is found in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4.

The Text – Lead/Bring

First, let’s look at the English translations of the verse in question. Most modern translations have some form of “lead us not” or “do not bring us into.” The one exception is the NLT which has, “don’t let us yield to.” In fact, the NLT stands out alone in this.

Now, what is the greek for the word in lead/bring? The lemma for the word is εἰσενέγκῃς. This is the aorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular of the verb εἰσφέρω. Literally, it means “you bring” or “you lead.”

The entry in BDAG:

1. to bring into an area, bring in
2. to cause someone to enter into a certain event or condition, bring in

William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 295.

Since the prayer is addressed to God, the 2nd person, i.e. the referent, is God. Being aorist just means that the verb has undefined action (rather than continuous, for example.) The subjunctive mood is one that indicates probability or possibility. In addition to the negative (lead not, bring not, do not bring, do not lead, etc), then, the force of the statement is the request that to not have the possibility of God leading/bringing “something to happen”. In this case, to not be put in a situation to be tempted.

In addition to the above, I need to say that the textual evidence is absolutely identical in the lemma of the greek. There are no extant manuscripts that have any other form of the verb. So, we can be very certain that “(you) do not lead” is what the Gospel writers intended to convey in what they record of Jesus’ words.

Given the above, the NLT’s translation is clearly not correct. They use the word “yield.” Interestingly, they capture the meaning of a subjunctive in English by saying “do not let us”. But only if the verb is in 1st person rather than 2nd person. “Yield”, though, is definitely not the meaning of the Greek. It is obvious that the translators of the NLT recognize the possible issue of contradiction given James 1:13. This is why one should be careful when using the NLT for Bible study. It frequently goes into the realm of an interpretive text of the Bible rather than a translation of the Bible.

In conclusion, the Greek text leaves no room for flexibility in translation. It should be translated (along with the negative) as “lead us not/do not lead us” or “do not bring us”.

The Text – Temptation

Let us look at what we would be led/brought to. So, let’s look at “temptation.” The Greek is the lemma πειρασμόν (πειρασμός.) It can mean test, trial or temptation. My question is why not trial or test?

To answer this, I have to go others:

The word has the basic meaning “test,” and, when used of Satan’s testing of people with a view to their failing in the test (see the note on the corresponding verb, 4:1), it comes to mean “temptation.” It has usually been understood in this way in this prayer (KJV; so NIV, etc.).

Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 148.

What the commentator above is saying is that the normal meaning of πειρασμός is “test” or “trial.” But, the word conveys a different sense when the test is actively being performed by Satan. On the one hand, it is possible that one can replace “tempt” with “test” and still not do damage to the translation and its meaning. On the other hand, the connection with Jesus’ own experience is very telling. Look at Matthew 4:1:

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1, ESV)

The verb, “led”, is the same as in Matt. 6:13. The verb, “tempted”, is the verb form of “temptation” in Matt. 6:13. It is aorist passive infinite: so, “to be tempted”.

Jesus was led to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (the evil one — I actually prefer the translation of Matthew 6:13 which says, “…but deliver us from the evil one.”) So, there is an interesting parallel. We pray to not be led into temptation (like Jesus was led into) and to be delivered from the evil one (Jesus, being God, could deliver himself and showing himself to be God, in a way.)

Does God Lead Us into Temptation?

Look at James 1:13.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13, ESV)

James is not saying anything about God leading people into temptation. In other words, God Himself is not doing the tempting.

But, God will put us into situations where He allows Satan (or the Enemy) to tempt us. God “led” Jesus, His Son, One of the Trinity, into the wilderness. God allowed Satan to tempt Jesus in many ways. God is not tempting us to sin! But, God is testing us and putting us into situations whereby we may be tempted. Are we surprised? Does not God want a people for His own? That has always been His goal.

Of course, we are not Jesus. Thus, it is not certain that we will succeed in any test or temptation that comes our way. So, we pray that we may not be led by God into the possibility of those situations. It is a recognition of our own frailty and our sinful nature.

In conclusion, the verse should stand as it has been translated for hundreds of years. The plain sense of the verse does not in any way contradict what James says. It is a recognition of who we are as frail and fallen humans and who God is as our Sovereign Lord and Creator.