The prayer
Pater noster, qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem,
sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Line by line
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| Pater noster, qui es in caelis, | Our Father, who art in heaven, |
| sanctificetur nomen tuum. | hallowed be thy name. |
| Adveniat regnum tuum. | Thy kingdom come. |
| Fiat voluntas tua, | Thy will be done |
| sicut in caelo et in terra. | on earth as it is in heaven. |
| Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, | Give us this day our daily bread, |
| et dimitte nobis debita nostra, | and forgive us our trespasses, |
| sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. | as we forgive those who trespass against us. |
| Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, | And lead us not into temptation, |
| sed libera nos a malo. Amen. | but deliver us from evil. Amen. |
Sometimes the word order is different. Sicut in caelo et in terra says heaven first: “as in heaven, so on earth”. Debita means debts, so the Latin says “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.
Reading it aloud
| Word | Say it |
|---|---|
| caelis | CHEH-lees |
| sanctificetur | sahnk-tee-fee-CHEH-toor |
| regnum | REH-nyoom |
| quotidianum | kwoh-tee-dee-AH-noom |
| hodie | OH-dee-eh |
| tentationem | ten-tah-tsee-OH-nem |
Vocabulary
You already know pater, nomen, in, et and sicut from Lessons 1 and 2.
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| noster | our |
| tuus | your, thy |
| qui | who |
| es | you are, thou art |
| caelum | heaven, sky |
| terra | earth |
| regnum | kingdom |
| voluntas | will |
| panis | bread |
| quotidianus | daily |
| hodie | today |
| nos | we, us |
| nobis | to us, for us |
| debitum | debt |
| tentatio | temptation |
| ne | not (in a wish or command) |
| sed | but |
| a, ab | from |
| malum | evil |
Asking and wishing
The Our Father is full of requests, and Latin has two ways of making them.
Commands speak straight to God, and there are three of them:
- da = give!
- dimitte = forgive!
- libera = deliver!
Wishes mean may it happen. They usually have an e where you’d expect an a, or an a where you’d expect an e:
- sanctificetur = may it be made holy (hallowed be)
- adveniat = may it come
- fiat = may it be done
The endings from Lesson 2 are here too: nos means we or us, but nobis means to us (“give to us”, “forgive to us”).
Homework
- Learn the Our Father by heart. Say it in Latin once a day.
- Find the three commands and the three wishes in the prayer without looking at the lists above.
- Noster, nostrum and nostra all mean our. Find each one in the prayer. Which word does each one go with?