主禱文 {zhu3-dao3-wen2}
Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4
There’s no better place to learn how to pray than from the lips of the Son of God. It’s short enough to memorize and profound enough that many pastors have expounded countless sermons on it. Suffice it to say, maybe it IS a good idea to memorize it and meditate on it once in a short while. We can find the most common version from Matthew:
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)
所以，你們禱告要這樣說：我們在天上的父：願人都尊你的名為聖。願你的國降臨；願你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。我們日用的飲食，今日賜給我們。免我們的債，如同我們免了人的債。不叫我們遇見試探；救我們脫離凶惡。因為國度、權柄、榮耀，全是你的，直到永遠。阿們！ (馬太福音 6:9-13, 和合本)
Have you noticed the issue? The English version is one sentence shorter. But if you dig through the footnote (which btw, is always a good thing to do), you can find the following,
“some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” [underscore added for emphasis]
Incidentally, the Chinese Union Version also contains a footnote indicating that certain manuscripts don’t have the last sentence. Similarly, the corresponding passage in Luke does not contain this part either, in Chinese or English.
Now, there’s a whole field of study that addresses the differences in manuscripts called Textual Criticism, which I don’t have the proper doctorate to comment on. But if you are a layman like me, it certainly helps to at least know what it is, and how to interpret it if needed.