Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 11:2-4

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation." — Luke 11:2-4 (ASV)

[Verse 2] When ye pray, say, ... — The reproduction, with only a verbal variation here and there, which may well have been the work of the reporter, of what had been given in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9–11), is every way significant. What had been given to the multitude was enough for them. If they wanted to be taught to pray at all, if earnest desires did not spontaneously clothe themselves in words, then this simplest and shortest of all prayers expressed everything they should seek to ask. To utter each of those petitions from the heart, entering into its depth and fullness, was better than to indulge in any elaborate rhetoric.

[Verses 2-4] Our Father which art in heaven. — See Notes on Matthew 6:9-11. The following variations may be noticed:

1. The better MSS omit “our” and “which art in heaven,” and begin with the simple “Father.” It was, of course, natural enough that it should be, in the course of time, adapted by transcribers to the form which was in common use.
2. Many of the best MSS, again, omit the whole clause, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth, which may have been inserted with the same purpose.
3. St. Luke substitutes “day by day” for “this day,” and so implies that the word ἐπιούσιος (epiousios), translated “daily,” must have some other meaning. (See Excursus II. on Notes to St. Matthew.)
4. St. Luke uses the word “sins” instead of “debts,” as being, perhaps, more adapted to the minds of his Gentile readers, while he retains the primary idea of St. Matthew’s term in the words every one that is indebted to us. The familiar “Forgive us our trespasses,” of the Prayer Book, it may be noted, is not found in the Authorized Version at all, and comes to us from Tyndale's.
5. Many of the better MSS omit the clause, But deliver us from evil, this too, probably, being an addition made for the sake of conformity.
6. St. Luke (all the MSS here agreeing) omits the final doxology found in some, but not in the best, MSS of St. Matthew.