Luke 11:2, “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.”
It is my goal in this short treatise to defend the words, “Thy will be done,
as in heaven, so in earth.” These wonderful words of our Saviour have been
omitted by many Greek texts and therefore, are wanting in nearly every modern
version.
Before I begin my defense of these words I would like to lay before my reader
what some modern-day textual scholars have to say about this verse. I will
begin by quoting noted textual critic Bruce Metzger. Metzger states, “After
sou the great majority of witnesses interpolate genethetw to thelema sou, ws
en ouranw kai epi tes ges" from Matthew 6.10. If the Lukan text had originally
contained these words, no good reason can be suggested that accounts for their
absence from such varied witnesses as p75 B L f1 vg syr(c,s) arm al.”
(Metzger, A Textual Commentary, p. 131-132). One must seriously question
Metzger’s use of the words “varied witnesses”. It can hardly be argued that
p75 B L f1 constitute “varied witnesses”. P75 B and L are known to agree with
one another and are from the same general location, thus, it would seem rather
odd to refer to them as “varied witnesses”. It must also be pointed out that
Metzger admits that “the great majority of witnesses” have the phrase, “Thy
will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”
Next, I want to quote what Kurt Aland had to say regarding this passage of
scripture. Aland comments, “The essential information is found in the
apparatus of Nestle-Aland26, and only a selection in GNT3 (p75 and B should be
noticed as the only manuscripts to preserve the original text in all its
details; even N and the other great uncials succumb here and there to the
temptation to add something from Matthew, although interestingly enough none
is tempted to add the doxology from Matt. 6:13 in the Lucan text).” (Aland,
The Text of the NT, p. 309). Here we clearly see the adulation these scholars
have for Vaticanus. Aland believes that it (B) and p75 are the only mss. out
of the nearly 5,400 that “preserve the original text”. What is so ironic is
that Aleph betrays B here and contains the phrase “Thy will be done, as in
heaven, so in earth.” When this happens Aland et al. completely dismiss Aleph.
But had Aleph agreed with the omission there can be little doubt that Aland
would’ve been hailing it as “the original text”. In Aleph we have a Greek
witness that is just as ancient as B and older than L.
I would like to comment a little on these two quotes before moving on with my
defense. Many modern version supporters will no doubt read the words of
Metzger and Aland and walk away with their minds settled. If I were to make
such naked assertions they would demand absolute proof of my statements or
they would gladly dismiss my comments as mere hearsay. In particular I want to
point out Metzger’s theory that the words were “interpolate(d)…from Matt.
6:10”. This could be said about any number of passages where the gospels
record the same events. Metzger offers absolutely no proof to substantiate his
claim. Again we ask if it would be easier for 3 mss. to omit (whether by mere
accident or by design) the phrase or for it to be “interpolated” into 99.9999%
of the manuscripts? Astounding it would be for mss. from all parts of
Christendom to arbitrarily (as Metzger purports) decide to add these words. It
is high time that we demand some actual evidence before we will believe such
naked assertions.
Metzger has already informed us that “the great majority of witnesses” read as
does our King James Bible. This is a staggering amount of manuscript support.
How 99.9999% of the evidence can be dismissed in this fashion boggles the
mind. How Metzger can overlook such widespread attestation as this and call 3
mss. “varied witnesses” will surely astound the intelligent reader. The phrase
doesn’t just receive overwhelming Greek support. It is also confirmed by the
Old Latin (b c e f i l q) as well as the Sixtine Vulgate version. More notable
attestation comes from the Peshitta (150 AD) and the Syriac version of Thomas
Harkel (Harklean Version - 616 AD). The words are also found in the ancient
Bohairic Translation and nearly all the Coptic. The Sahidic reads, “Thy will
be done.” (omitting only ‘as in heaven, so in earth’), which brings it more in
agreement with our Traditional Text than the Critical Text. Now, if Metzger is
inclined to use “varied witnesses”, this truly constitutes “varied witnesses”!
In his remarks above, Kurt Aland refers his readers to the “essential
information” that is found in the Nestle-Aland 26th edition. I happen to have
the 27th edition so I will be making use of it. The only real notable
difference from the citation set forth by Metzger (see quote above) is the
addition of Marcion and Origen as witnesses for the omission. Enough has been
written about Origen and his proclivity for altering nearly every mss. that
came into his possession. I will pass over Origen at this time but I did want
to comment about N/A’s choice of citing Marcion as a witness FOR their text.
This should both astound and enlighten the Bible student. Marcion was a
heretic of the first order and was routinely condemned by many of the Early
Church Writers as such. Marcion was known for his methods of mutilating the
original texts. It would be little wonder that this phrase (and many others)
would be found wanting in Marcion's copy of the Gospel of Luke. Irenaeus
especially notes that Marcion was guilty of mutilating this gospel.
“Besides this, he mutilates the Gospel which is according to Luke, removing all that is written respecting the generation of the Lord, and setting aside a great deal of the teaching of the Lord, in which the Lord is recorded as most clearly confessing that the Maker of this universe is His Father. He likewise persuaded his disciples that he himself was more worthy of credit than are those apostles who have handed down the Gospel to us, furnishing them not with the Gospel, but merely a fragment of it. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.27)”
Irenaeus comments in another place,
“Wherefore also Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures, not acknowledging some books at all; and, curtailing the Gospel according to Luke and the Epistles of Paul, they assert that these are alone authentic, which they have themselves thus shortened. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.12)”
Tertullian verifies what Irenaeus has stated,
“Now, of the authors whom we possess, Marcion seems to have singled out Luke
for his mutilating process. (Tertullian, Five Books Against Marcion, 4.2)”
Again Tertullian writes,
“…it clearly follows that Luke’s Gospel also has come down to us in like integrity until the sacrilegious treatment of Marcion. In short, when Marcion laid hands on it, it then became diverse and hostile to the Gospels of the apostles. (Tertullian, Five Books Against Marcion, 4.5)”
Considering these facts it is little wonder Marcion's copy of Luke omitted the
words “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” Since Vaticanus has
followed a copy similar to Marcion's it will also be no surprise to learn that
it has omitted the following words from the Lord’s Prayer as found in Luke’s
gospel – “Our... which art in Heaven... thy will be done, as in heaven, so in
earth... but deliver us from evil.” What IS a surprise is that nearly 1,800
years later this heretic’s mutilation is being foisted upon the church of
Jesus Christ as the authentic writing of Luke.
If you want the words of God and not the sacrilegious mutilations of the
heretic Marcion stick with your King James Bible.
