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Selected Verse: Luke 11:3 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Lu 11:3	King James	Give us day by day our daily bread.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
day by day, &c.--an extension of the petition in Matthew for "this day's" supply, to every successive day's necessities. The closing doxology, wanting here, is wanting also in all the best and most ancient copies of Matthew's Gospel. Perhaps our Lord purposely left that part open: and as the grand Jewish doxologies were ever resounding, and passed immediately and naturally, in all their hallowed familiarity into the Christian Church, probably this prayer was never used in the Christian assemblies but in its present form, as we find it in Matthew, while in Luke it has been allowed to stand as originally uttered.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

day by day, &c.--an extension of the petition in Matthew for "this day's" supply, to every successive day's necessities. The closing doxology, wanting here, is wanting also in all the best and most ancient copies of Matthew's Gospel. Perhaps our Lord purposely left that part open: and as the grand Jewish doxologies were ever resounding, and passed immediately and naturally, in all their hallowed familiarity into the Christian Church, probably this prayer was never used in the Christian assemblies but in its present form, as we find it in Matthew, while in Luke it has been allowed to stand as originally uttered.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
day by day Or, for the day.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]

day by day

Or, for the day.

Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886]
Daily bread (τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐπιούσιον) Great differences of opinion exist among commentators as to the strict meaning of the word rendered daily. The principal explanations are the following: 1. From ἐπιέναι, to come on. Hence, a. The coming, or to-morrow's bread. b. Daily: regarding the days in their future succession. c. Continual. d. Yet to come, applied to Christ, the Bread of life, who is to come hereafter. 2. From ἐπί and οὐσία, being. Hence, a. For our sustenance (physical), and so necessary. b. For our essential life (spiritual). c. Above all being, hence pre-eminent, excellent. d. Abundant. It would be profitless to the English reader to go into the discussion. A scholar is quoted as saying that the term is "the rack of theologians and grammarians." A satisfactory discussion must assume the reader's knowledge of Greek. Those who are interested in the question will find it treated by Tholuck ("Sermon on the Mount"), and also very exhaustively by Bishop Lightfoot ("On a Fresh Revision of the New Testament"). The latter adopts the derivation from ἐπιέναι, to come on, and concludes by saying, "the familiar rendering, daily, which has prevailed uninterruptedly in the Western Church from the beginning, is a fairly adequate representation of the original; nor, indeed, does the English language furnish any one word which would answer the purpose so well." The rendering in the margin of Rev. is, our bread for the coming day. It is objected to this that it contradicts the Lord's precept in Mat 6:34 :, not to be anxious for the morrow. But the word does not necessarily mean the morrow. "If the prayer were said in the evening, no doubt it would mean the following day; but supposing it to be used before dawn, it would designate the day then breaking" (the coming day). "And further, if the command not to be anxious is tantamount to a prohibition against prayer for the object about which we are forbidden to be anxious, then not only must we not pray for to-morrow's food, but we must not pray for food at all; since the Lord bids us (Mat 6:25) not to be anxious for our life" (Lightfoot, condensed).

Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886]

Daily bread (τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐπιούσιον)

Great differences of opinion exist among commentators as to the strict meaning of the word rendered daily. The principal explanations are the following:

1. From ἐπιέναι, to come on. Hence,

a. The coming, or to-morrow's bread.

b. Daily: regarding the days in their future succession.

c. Continual.

d. Yet to come, applied to Christ, the Bread of life, who is to come hereafter.

2. From ἐπί and οὐσία, being. Hence,

a. For our sustenance (physical), and so necessary.

b. For our essential life (spiritual).

c. Above all being, hence pre-eminent, excellent.

d. Abundant.

It would be profitless to the English reader to go into the discussion. A scholar is quoted as saying that the term is "the rack of theologians and grammarians." A satisfactory discussion must assume the reader's knowledge of Greek. Those who are interested in the question will find it treated by Tholuck ("Sermon on the Mount"), and also very exhaustively by Bishop Lightfoot ("On a Fresh Revision of the New Testament"). The latter adopts the derivation from ἐπιέναι, to come on, and concludes by saying, "the familiar rendering, daily, which has prevailed uninterruptedly in the Western Church from the beginning, is a fairly adequate representation of the original; nor, indeed, does the English language furnish any one word which would answer the purpose so well." The rendering in the margin of Rev. is, our bread for the coming day. It is objected to this that it contradicts the Lord's precept in Mat 6:34 :, not to be anxious for the morrow. But the word does not necessarily mean the morrow. "If the prayer were said in the evening, no doubt it would mean the following day; but supposing it to be used before dawn, it would designate the day then breaking" (the coming day). "And further, if the command not to be anxious is tantamount to a prohibition against prayer for the object about which we are forbidden to be anxious, then not only must we not pray for to-morrow's food, but we must not pray for food at all; since the Lord bids us (Mat 6:25) not to be anxious for our life" (Lightfoot, condensed).

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