The Pope has approved changing the Lord’s Prayer from “lead us not into temptation” to “do not let us fall into temptation”. This was not done on textual grounds, but from a “theological, pastoral, and stylistic viewpoint”. Excuse me, but since when does that trump the biblical text?
History of the Text
I looked at several English translations going back to Tyndale (1534) and they all have the traditional reading. The reason is that the Greek text is clear and there are not even any textual variants for that verse. All Greek textual traditions read the same. The only other possible translation I can see is “may You not lead us into temptation” which emphasizes the subjective mood of the verb, but that doesn’t address the Pope’s concern. Continue reading