Considering Pope Francis’ adjustment to the Lord’s Prayer
THE DECISION by Pope Francis in 2019 to make changes to the Lord’s Prayer – i.e. to read “do not let us fall into temptation” rather than “lead us not into temptation” – has attracted considerable attention.
This change is made not on the level of translation, but of theology; the issue is seen as a pastoral one.1 God does not tempt; and the possibility of his doing so is seen as harmful to worshippers who in their daily recitation of “lead us not into temptation” reinforce a negative idea. Does God have any agency in regard to temptation? Historically, there have been two ways of addressing this pastoral concern. Interpreters either: 1) render the Greek noun peirasmos as ‘test’ rather than ‘temptation’, or 2) in the case of the Church Fathers, gloss the verbal action as “do not suffer us to be led into temptation.”2* Full article available in printed copies.
Benjamin Wold
is Associate Professor in Ancient Judaism & Christianity in Trinity College, Dublin and Director of the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies.