Editing Lord's Prayer (section)

===Fifth Petition===
{{Blockquote | And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us;}}
{{see also|Matthew 6:12}}

Although [[Matthew 6:12]] uses the term ''debts'', most older English versions of the Lord's Prayer use the term ''trespasses'', while ecumenical versions often use the term ''sins''. The last choice may be due to [[Luke 11|Luke 11:4]],<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|11:4}}</ref> which uses the word ''sins'', while the former may be due to [[Matthew 6:14]] (immediately after the text of the prayer), where Jesus speaks of ''trespasses''. As early as the third century, [[Origen of Alexandria]] used the word ''trespasses'' ({{lang|grc|παραπτώματα}}) in the prayer. 

The Latin form that was traditionally used in Western Europe has ''debita'' (''debts''), but most English-speaking Christians (except Scottish Presbyterians and some others of the Dutch [[Reformed churches|Reformed]] tradition) use ''trespasses''. For example, the [[Church of Scotland]], the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], the [[Reformed Church in America]], as well as some [[Congregational]] heritage churches in the [[United Church of Christ]] follow the version found in [[Matthew 6]] in the [[King James Version]] (KJV), which in the prayer uses the words ''debts'' and ''debtors''.

The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches tend to use the rendering "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists are more likely to say "trespasses... those who trespass against us".<ref>Chaignot, Mary Jane. ''[http://biblewise.com/archives/2005/september/overview/questions.htm#trespasses Questions and Answers]''. {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130122231015/http://www.biblewise.com/archives/2005/september/overview/questions.htm#trespasses |date=2013-01-22}}. Accessed 11 Feb 2013</ref> 

The "debts" form appears in the first English translation of the Bible, by [[John Wycliffe]] in 1395 (Wycliffe spelling "dettis"). The "trespasses" version appears in the 1526 translation by [[William Tyndale]] (Tyndale spelling "treaspases"). In 1549 the [[Book of Common Prayer (1549)|first ''Book of Common Prayer'']] in English used a version of the prayer with "trespasses". This became the "official" version used in Anglican congregations. On the other hand, the 1611 [[King James Version]], the version specifically [[Authorized Version|authorized]] for the [[Church of England]], has "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors".

After the request for bread, Matthew and Luke diverge slightly. Matthew continues with a request for [[debt]]s to be forgiven in the same manner as people have forgiven those who have debts against them. Luke, on the other hand, makes a similar request about [[sin]]s being forgiven in the manner of debts being forgiven between people. The word "debts" ({{lang |grc|ὀφειλήματα}}) does not necessarily mean financial obligations, as shown by the use of the verbal form of the same word ({{lang|grc|ὀφείλετε}}) in passages such as Romans 13:8.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Romans|13:8}}</ref> The [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] word ''ḥôbâ'' can mean "debt" or "sin".<ref>Nathan Eubank 2013, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=fB7YUtXPARUC&pg=PA2 Wages of Cross-Bearing and Debt of Sin]'' (Walter de Gruyter {{ISBN |978-31-1030407-7}}), p. 2</ref><ref>John S. Kloppenborg 2008, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=L8Q9pYmQdVsC&pg=PA58 Q, the Earliest Gospel]'' (Westminster John Knox Press {{ISBN|978-1-61164058-8}}), p. 58.</ref> This difference between Luke's and Matthew's wording could be explained by the original form of the prayer having been in Aramaic. The generally accepted interpretation is thus that the request is for forgiveness of sin, not of supposed loans granted by God.<ref>''Theological Dictionary of the New Testament'', Kittel & Friedrich eds., abridged in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich; 1985), pp. 746–50, gives use of ὸφείλω ''opheilo'' (to owe, be under obligation), ὸφειλή ''opheile'' (debt, obligation) and two other word forms used in the New Testament and outside the New Testament, including use in Judaism.</ref> Asking for forgiveness from God was a staple of Jewish prayers (e.g., [[Penitential Psalms]]). It was also considered proper for individuals to be forgiving of others, so the sentiment expressed in the prayer would have been a common one of the time.{{Citation needed|date= March 2009}}

[[Anthony C. Deane]], Canon of [[Worcester Cathedral]], suggested that the choice of the word "ὀφειλήματα" (debts), rather than "ἁμαρτίας" (sins), indicates a reference to failures to use opportunities of doing good. He linked this with the [[The Sheep and the Goats|parable of the sheep and the goats]] (also in Matthew's Gospel), in which the grounds for condemnation are not wrongdoing in the ordinary sense, but failure to do right, missing opportunities for showing [[Charity (virtue)|love]] to others.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matt.|25:31–46}}</ref>{{Sfn|Deane|1926|pp=107–114}}

"As we forgive ...". Divergence between Matthew's "debts" and Luke's "sins" is relatively trivial compared to the impact of the second half of this statement. The verses immediately following the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:14–15<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matt.|6:14–15}}</ref> show Jesus teaching that the forgiveness of our sin/debt (by God) is linked with how we forgive others, as in the [[Parable of the Unforgiving Servant]] Matthew 18:23–35,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matt.|18:23–35}}</ref> which Matthew gives later. [[R. T. France]] comments:

{{blockquote|The point is not so much that forgiving is a prior condition of being forgiven, but that forgiving cannot be a one-way process. Like all God's gifts it brings responsibility; it must be passed on. To ask for forgiveness on any other basis is hypocrisy. There can be no question, of course, of our forgiving being in proportion to what we are forgiven, as 18:23–35 makes clear.|author=R. T. France|title=The Gospel According to Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary{{Sfn|France|1985|p=137}}}}