Translation from old Aramaic - The language it was first recorded in ; This is a translation, not a paraphrase.

"O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration! Soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where your Presence can abide.

Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission.

Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with our desire.

Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.

Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us, as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.

Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the ground and the fruitful vision, the birth-power and fulfillment, as all is gathered and made whole once again."

I don't know how true this is since I don't know Armaic. But I still found it interesting. What do you all think? It seems almost like a completely different prayer to me.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2002

Answers

Denise, I've seen this before. It was even discussed on a (non- Christian) email list to which I was subscribed. There were arguments that if the source was Aramic, that source would HAVE to have been translated from Greek into Aramic, and then into English. I don't know about that. I'm no Bible scholar! But, this is what the person who did this translation [Neil Douglas-Klotz] had to say about it:

Q: Where did you find an Aramaic version of the words of Jesus? NDK:It is in print as the Bible used by Assyrian Aramaic and Syrian Orthodox Christians today. This version is called "Peshitta," because Aramaic Christians believe that it is pure, that is, an accurate rendition of Jesus' words in the language that he spoke. I would say that it is at least much closer to the dialect he probably spoke than anything in Greek, which is a very different language.

Greek likes to create neat, separate categories for everything: mind, body, spirit, emotions. Inner is not outer. Cause is not effect. The Semitic languages are very different. For instance, Jesus is reported to have said, "The Kingdom of heaven is within you" and in another place, "The Kingdom of heaven is among you." In Aramaic he says the same thing both times, because there is only one preposition that means both "within" and "among." This is an entirely different way of looking at self and other than we live with today. The entire article can be found at Article

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2002

Wow that really neet Denise!! Thanks .....Kirk

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2002

Thanks Joy! I knew YOU would be able to shed light on where it came from and tell us more! The link is very interesting indeed. :)

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2002

This is really great stuff!! I'm adding it to my collection of similar issues of Bible translation comparisons.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2002