And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
- BSB So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
- NKJV So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
- NASB And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
- NLT Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus teaches the disciples to address God as Father and to seek first his honor, reign, and will. Prayer begins with God's glory before our needs.
Overview
This pattern, paralleling Matthew's Lord's Prayer, opens with intimate yet reverent address to God as Father. The first petitions long for the hallowing of his name, the coming of his Kingdom, and the doing of his will. Such God-centered prayer flows from the access to the Father secured through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- Matt 6:6–15But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
- Eccl 5:2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
- Ps 72:18–19Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
- Rev 15:4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
- 1 Th 3:11–13Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
- 2 Chr 20:6And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
- Rev 20:4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- 1 Th 1:3Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
- Phil 1:2Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Eph 1:2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Cor 1:3Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Luke 10:9–11And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
- Ps 57:11Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
- Phil 4:20Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 2 Cor 1:2Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Th 1:1Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Rev 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- Rom 8:15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
- Isa 63:16Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
- Matt 5:16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
- 2 Th 1:1–2Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
- Rev 19:6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
- Lev 22:23Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
- Lev 10:3Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
- Col 1:2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ps 108:5Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
- Isa 6:2–3Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
- Matt 3:2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Matt 10:32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
- Dan 2:28But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
- Hab 2:14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
- Ps 103:20Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
- 1 Kgs 8:43Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
- Dan 7:27And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
- Dan 7:18But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
- 2 Th 2:16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
- Hos 14:2Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
- Isa 2:2–5And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
- 2 Kgs 19:19Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 11:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.