Sophia Scriptura

On Prayer 28.1

Origen · On Prayer · ca. 233–234 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: The petition on debts recalls Paul's teaching that we owe others not only money but kind words, deeds, and above all love.

Greek text · Koetschau 2:375–376

„Καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν, “ ἢ ὡς Λουκᾶς· „καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ἀφήκαμεν παντὶ ὀφείλοντι ἡμῖν.“ περὶ τῶν ὀφειλημάτων καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγει· „ἀπόδοτε πᾶσι τὰς ὀφειλὰς. τῷ τὸν φόρον τὸν φόρον, τῷ τὸν φόβον τὸν φόβον, τῷ τὸ τέλος τὸ τέλος, τῷ τὴν τιμὴν τὴν τιμήν· μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν.“ ὀφείλομεν τοιγαροῦν ἔχοντές τινα καθήκοντα οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ δόσει ἀλλὰ καὶ λόγῳ προσηνεῖ καὶ τοῖσδέ τισι τοῖς ἔργοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ διάθεσίν τινα τοιάνδε ὀφείλομεν ἔχειν πρὸς αὐτούς. ταῦτα δὴ ὀφείλοντες ἤτοι ἀποδίδομεν διὰ τοῦ ἐπιτελεῖν τὰ προστασσόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου νόμου, ἢ τῷ καταφρονεῖν τοῦ ὑγιοῦς λόγου μὴ ἀποδιδόντες μένομεν ἐν τῷ ὀφείλειν.

English · Claude translation

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” or as Luke has it, “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves have also forgiven everyone who is indebted to us.” The apostle too speaks about debts: “Pay to all what is owed: tribute to whom tribute is due, fear to whom fear, custom to whom custom, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” We are debtors, then, having certain duties, not only in giving but also in kindly speech and in certain deeds; and we also owe a certain disposition toward others. Owing these things, we either pay them by accomplishing what is commanded by the divine law, or, by despising sound reason and not paying them, we remain in debt.

About this passage

Source
Koetschau 2:375–376 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 2: Buch V–VIII gegen Celsus, Die Schrift vom Gebet, GCS 3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 297–403 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 2 (GCS 3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Koetschau, GCS 3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 3; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.
Scripture
Topics
Prayer, Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Matt 6:12, Luke 11:4, and Rom 13:7–8.

Cite this passage

Origen, Or. 28.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/28/1/).

Plain text
Origen, Or. 28.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/28/1/).

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