Luke 11:4

Luke 11:4, in plain English

Forgive us, because we forgive others. And please don't let us be pulled into temptation. Jesus connects receiving God's grace with extending it to the people who've hurt you.

Why it's here

You can't hoard forgiveness. Jesus ties your experience of being forgiven directly to your willingness to forgive others. It's uncomfortable but freeing.

Who's speaking

Jesus wraps up the model prayer with the hardest and most important parts: forgiveness and protection.

Where it sits in the story

The prayer ends where it gets personal. Forgiving others isn't optional -- it's woven right into how you talk to God. And asking for help with temptation shows it's okay to admit you're vulnerable.

The scholarly reading

The petition links divine forgiveness to human forgiveness: aphes hēmin tas hamartias hēmōn -- 'forgive us our sins.' Luke uses hamartias (sins) rather than Matthew's opheilēmata (debts), making the moral dimension explicit.

Language and setting

The reciprocal nature of forgiveness was central to Jesus' teaching. The final petition against peirasmon (testing/temptation) may echo the eschatological trial expected before God's kingdom.

Voice

Jesus concludes the model prayer with petitions for forgiveness and protection from spiritual danger.

Significance

The prayer ends with honest vulnerability: we need forgiveness, we must forgive others, and we need God's help against temptation. Jesus builds a complete spiritual framework in just a few lines.

2So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

3Give us each day our daily bread.

4And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

6because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’

Read all of Luke 11 — The disciples ask for a prayer, and Jesus gives them words that have echoed for two thousand years. Then he warns against empty religion.