Ὁ Θεός Πατήρ ἡμῶν, δωρεὰ τῆς χάριτος σοῦ θεοῦ πᾶσα ἡμέρα
God, our Father, each day is a gift of your grace.
καινοί οἱ ἔλεοι σοῦ καθʼ ἡμέραν
Your mercies are new every morning.
ὁδήγησον τὸ περιπατεῖν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ φωτί τοῦ Λογοῦ σοῦ.
Guide our steps by the light of your Word.
ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ κακίας καὶ πονηρίας
Shield us from harm and keep us from evil.
κρεῖττον γάρ ἐστιν ἀγάπη σοῦ ἤ ζωή.
Better than life is your love.
δίδου ἡμῖν χαρᾶν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἡμῶν καὶ ἔπαινον ἐν τῷ στόματι ἡμῶν.
I found Luther’s Morning Prayer translated into Greek, from 1577 (Selnecker). I think this is Koine Greek (any opinions on that???). It seems that they were using Greek as an academic language. I have another edition that is in German, Latin, Greek, and HEBREW!
Here’s my problem. I decyphered the running miniscule, except for one word. It’s seen in the image here. The phrase is also underlined in my transcription below.
A friend who studied minuscule writing agrees. He said it’s a standard way of writing γαρ. Another friend looked at the Hebrew, Latin, and German parallel translations in a similar text, and found ki, quia, and denn. So, γαρ it must be. Thanks.
I found Luther’s Morning Prayer translated into Greek, from 1577 (Selnecker). I think this is Koine Greek (any opinions on that???). It seems that they were using Greek as an academic language. I have another edition that is in German, Latin, Greek, and HEBREW!
Yes, this strikes me as basic Koine, with fairly simple syntax and an absence of particles.
One does wonder about Selnecker’s motives. It’s hard to imagine Lutheranism having much of an audience among Greek speaking Byzantine communities, and there a more Demotic version would be indicated. So I agree with you that it appears Ancient Greek was being composed for the same reason we compose it now, to help learn the language.
I think your version holds up fairly well to Selnecker’s. The ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐμέ…is a nice turn of phrase. Jesus could have said: ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐμὲ καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν ἡμῖν ἔδωκα.
I would like to know more about WHY they were translating things into Koine. Here’s a clue:
" When, in 1539, Justus Jonas translated the Nuernberg Sermons for Children, he made a third Latin translation of the Small Catechism. He calls it “this my Latin translation, not carefully finished indeed, but nevertheless rendered in good faith.” (627.) This Latin text obtained special importance since it was immediately done into English, Polish, and Icelandic. In 1560 Job Magdeburg furnished a fourth Latin version. Concerning the translations into Greek, Hebrew, and other languages see Weimar Edition of Luther’s Complete Works (10, 1, 718f.)"
Someday, I’d like to find that reference in Luther’s Works and see what Luther said about these translations into Greek. (I tried looking at the online copy yesterday, but couldn’t seem to find the right place in Volume 10.) From this webpage’s comments, it seems that Latin was the bridge language. The academic language which others could then use to decypher and translate German. Could Koine have been the same? Maybe there were those in the Christian church (as today) who would understand Koine, but not understand either Latin or German.
Some months ago, I had some of my students talking in Koine (via video taped messages) with some students in the Far East. It was a magical experience to see Koine truly be used as a medium of communication. This wasn’t a classroom stunt (like what I do all the time) to create a situation in which Koine can be used communicatively. This was actual communication in Koine.
And really, δια τί οὐ; Moslems converse in Arabic. Jews use reconstructed Hebrew. Catholic clergy still converse in Latin. Why not Ancient Greek?
Ich danke dir, mein himlicher Fater, durch Jesum Christum, deinen lieben Sohn, dass du mich diese Nach vor allem Schaden und Fahr behütet hast.
Gratias ago tibi, mi Pater coelestis, per Iesum Christum, Filium tuum dilectum, quod me hac nocte ab omnibus incommodis ac periculis conservatum custodieris.
I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger.
συμφορά, Ion. -ή, ἡ, (συμφέρω III), an event, circumstance, chance,
Is it normal for και to be in between a noun and its adjective, when και has the sense of “also?” So this phrase would be “from all dangers and also bad circumstances.”
δια-σώζω, f. -σώσω, to preserve through a danger,
δια-φῠλάσσω, Att. -ττω, f. ξω, to watch closely, guard carefully
Something like this???
“I thank you that through all dangers and bad circumstances you have preserved me and guarded me carefully” (Attendant Circumstance)
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ἀπὸ παντῶν τῶν κακῶν καὶ κινδύνων.
