Give us each day
This phrase emphasizes the need for daily dependence on God. In the biblical context, it reflects the Israelites' experience in the wilderness, where they relied on God for manna each day (Exodus 16:4-5). This daily provision teaches trust in God's continual care and provision, rather than hoarding resources or relying on one's own strength. It also aligns with the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:34, where He advises not to worry about tomorrow, but to focus on God's provision for today.

our daily bread
The term "bread" here symbolizes not only physical sustenance but also spiritual nourishment. In the ancient Near Eastern culture, bread was a staple food, representing the basic necessities of life. This request acknowledges God as the provider of all needs, both physical and spiritual. It connects to Jesus' declaration in John 6:35, where He identifies Himself as the "bread of life," indicating that true sustenance comes from a relationship with Him. The phrase also echoes the prophetic imagery of the Messianic banquet, where God provides abundantly for His people (Isaiah 25:6).

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this prayer, teaching His disciples how to pray.

2. Disciples
The immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, representing all believers who seek to learn how to pray.

3. Daily Bread
A metaphorical and literal reference to God's provision for our daily needs.Dependence on God
This verse teaches us to rely on God for our daily needs, recognizing Him as the ultimate provider.

Contentment
By asking for "daily bread," we learn to be content with what we have today, trusting God for tomorrow.

Simplicity in Prayer
Jesus models simplicity in prayer, focusing on essential needs rather than extravagant desires.

Community and Sharing
The use of "us" instead of "me" encourages believers to think communally, considering the needs of others in their prayers.

Faith in God's Timing
Trusting God to provide "each day" teaches us to live in the present, relying on His perfect timing.Verse 3. - Give us day by day our daily bread. There would need no comment upon this - at first sight - quite simple prayer, but for the word ἐπιούσιος, rendered "daily." This word, in all Greek literature, occurs only in these two evangelists, in SS. Matthew and Luke's report of the Lord's Prayer. Now, does this strange word mean "daily," as our translation gives it; or is it the rough Greek rendering of some Aramaic word of a loftier signification? Most probably our Lord was speaking Aramaic in this place, far away from the capital, in the heart of Palestine. Jerome attempts to Latinize literally the Greek compound word with supersubstantialis; hence the Rheims Version renders it "supersubstantial," and Wickliffe "over other substance." Generally speaking, the patristic expositors interpret this famous word in such a way that the petition prays, not for the common bread of everyday life, but for a spiritual food, even the Bread from heaven, which giveth life unto the world. So, with unimportant differences, interpret Origen, Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, Ambrose, and Augustine. Among the moderns who adopt the same view may be cited Olshausen, Stier, and Dean Plumptre. The last-named scholar's words are an admirable answer to any who would abandon this higher and nobler meaning, for the sake of preserving the reference to the commonplace of everyday life. "So taken, the petition.., raises us to the region of thought in which we leave all that concerns our earthly life in the hands of our Father, without asking him even for the supply of its simplest wants, seeking only that he would sustain and perfect the higher life of our spirit." If, however, the interpretation (on the whole unlikely) of common, everyday bread, be accepted, and the simple reference of Luke 10:42 to the necessity for only one dish at table be adopted, then, with the charge to the seventy contained in Luke 10:7, to eat and drink "such things as they give," and the further instruction to "take no thought... what ye shall eat" (Luke 12:22), we have, in this last period of our Lord's public life, clear expressions on the part of the Master of his wish that his followers should ever content themselves with the simplest human food, avoiding not only all excess, but all extravagance, and even consideration and thought, in providing for anything beyond the simplest daily sustenance.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Give
δίδου (didou)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1325: To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

us
ἡμῖν (hēmin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

each
καθ’ (kath’)
Preposition
Strong's 2596: A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined).

day
ἡμέραν (hēmeran)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

our
ἡμῶν (hēmōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

daily
ἐπιούσιον (epiousion)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1967: For the morrow, necessary, sufficient.

bread.
ἄρτον (arton)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 740: Bread, a loaf, food. From airo; bread or a loaf.


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NT Gospels: Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily (Luke Lu Lk)