Today for Lent, our passage was Matthew 6:5–6:
Stephen (from Greek):
Whenever you go to pray, do not be as the hypocrites; for they relish to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, all so that they can be seen of others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. For your Father who sees you in secret will give back to you.
Jasmin (also from Greek):
And when you pray, you will not be as the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, so that they are seen by men. Truthfully I say to you, they receive in full their wage. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will recompense you.
Neal (from Latin):
And when you pray, be not like the hypocrites who are fond of praying in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. On the contrary, when you pray within, in your bedroom, with your door closed, you pray to your Father in concealment, and your Father who sees will pay you back.
As a translators note, I am not sure if “when you pray within” is the proper sense of cum ōrābis intra, but intra is most literally translated as “within” or “inside,” and I like the sentiment that not only are you praying privately, but the prayer itself is within yourself, where only your Heavenly Father can hear it.
Also, I find it interesting that neither the Greek nor the Latin appears to justify the assertion made by the KJV that we are rewarded “openly.” Perhaps it helps to remember that the blessings we get from prayer are not always obvious or visible, nor public. Just as prayer is between your and your Heavenly Father, so are the blessings.
Happy Sabbath!
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