The Textus Receptus uses a present verb: as we forgive. The critical text uses an aorist that is often rendered as we have forgiven. One presents a continuing practice; the other looks at an act treated as done.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” — Matthew 6:12
Neither reading says human mercy earns divine pardon. The prayer begins with the Father’s name, kingdom, will, and gift. Forgiveness comes from grace. Yet a person who asks mercy while refusing it to others contradicts the request. Jesus makes that warning explicit in verses 14–15.
The critical form has early support and a parallel in Luke’s prayer, where the wording also differs in tense and in “sins” versus “debts.” Critics may judge “we have forgiven” harder because it sounds bold: the petitioner comes after having released the debtors.
The received present is not a weak softening. It confesses an active disposition: as we are forgiving those indebted to us. The action is not finished once for all. New offenses come, old wounds return to mind, and mercy must continue.
Greek aorist and present do not map mechanically onto English time. The aorist can view an action as a whole; the present can show it in progress. A scribe could change either form to make the theology sound neater—completed forgiveness before prayer, or ongoing forgiveness after it.
The received tense matches Matthew’s following explanation, “if ye forgive men their trespasses.” It also fits the daily character of the prayer. Daily bread, daily temptation, and repeated debts meet repeated mercy.
The verse does not command denial, instant trust, or the removal of lawful consequences. Forgiveness releases private vengeance and stands ready for restored fellowship where repentance makes it possible. Justice may still protect the weak.
The present reading has wide ecclesiastical use and the moral cadence of Matthew’s paragraph. Christians do not claim a perfect past record at the throne. They ask as people whose lives are being bent into the mercy they seek.
Debt is Matthew’s chosen image. Sin owes obedience and satisfaction to God that the sinner cannot provide. Human offenders also incur real obligations: truth, restitution, apology, or changed conduct. Forgiveness does not call those obligations imaginary; it renounces the creditor’s private claim to retaliatory payment.
This helps explain the present tense. The disciple is not announcing that every relationship has already been restored or every consequence removed. He confesses a present posture of release toward debtors. When memory presents the account again, mercy must again refuse vengeance.
The aorist rival can express the same settled commitment viewed as a whole, so the contrast should not be exaggerated. The received present is preferable because Matthew’s commentary in verses 14–15 continues the act. The prayer does not let a petitioner point to one completed moment of forgiveness while present bitterness grows unchecked.
Sources and further reading
- Matthew 6:9–15; 18:21–35; Luke 11:1–4; Ephesians 4:32.
- Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, note on Matthew 6:12.
- Westminster Confession of Faith 15 and 21.