Editing Epiousion (section)

==Translations and interpretations==
There are several reasons that {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} presents an exceptional translation challenge. The word appears nowhere else in other Ancient Greek texts, and so may have been coined by the authors of the Gospel. Jesus probably did not originally compose the prayer in Greek, but in [[language of Jesus|his native language]], but the consensus view is that the [[language of the New Testament|New Testament was originally written]] in [[Koine Greek]]. This implies the probability of [[language interpretation]] (i.e., spoken Aramaic to written Greek) at the outset of recording the Gospel. Thus, the meaning of any such word is often difficult to determine, because cross-references and comparisons with other usages are not possible, except by morphological analysis.

The most popular morphological analysis sees prefix {{transliteration|grc|epi-}} and a polysemantic word {{transliteration|grc|[[ousia]]}} even though that does not follow the standard Greek form of building compound words. Usually the [[iota]] at the end of {{transliteration|grc|epi}} would be dropped in a compound whose second word starts with a vowel (compare, e. g., [[eponym]] ''vs'' [[epigraph (disambiguation)|epigraph]]).<ref name="Aune2013">{{cite book|author=David Edward Aune|title=Jesus, Gospel Tradition and Paul in the Context of Jewish and Greco-Roman Antiquity: Collected Essays II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XT_nwOG-bwAC&pg=PA88|year=2013|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-152315-1 |page=88}}</ref> This is not an absolute rule, however: [[Jean Carmignac]] has collected 26 compound words that violate it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Theological Lexicon of the New Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HcjnwEACAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Hendrickson|isbn=978-1-56563-035-2}}</ref> Alternatively, the word may be analyzed as a feminine participle from two different verbs.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kIqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT359 |title = Luke 9:21-18:34, Volume 35B|isbn = 9780310588566|last1 = Nolland|first1 = John|date = 2018-04-24| publisher=Zondervan Academic }}</ref>

To sum up, both modern and ancient scholars have proposed several different translations for {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}}. Even [[Jerome]], the most important translator of the Bible to Latin, translated this same word in the same context in two different ways. Today there is no consensus on the exact meaning. What follows is a review of the alternative translations:

===Daily===
''Daily'' has long been the most common English translation of {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}}. It is the term used in the [[Tyndale Bible]], the [[King James Version]], and in the most popular modern English versions.<ref name="Barclay1998">{{cite book|author=William Barclay|title=The Lord's Prayer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ3aVuXufIQC&pg=PA77|date=1 November 1998|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-25815-3 |page=75}}</ref> This rests on the analysis of {{transliteration|grc|epi}} as ''for'' and {{transliteration|grc|[[ousia]]}} as ''being''; the word would mean "for the [day] being" with ''day'' being implicit.<ref name="Pitre2015_172"/>

This version is based on the Latin rendering of {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} as {{lang|la|quotidianum}}, rather than the alternative Latin translation of {{lang|la|supersubstantialem}}. This {{lang|la|quotidianum}} interpretation is first recorded in the works of [[Tertullian]],<ref name="Brown1975">{{cite book|last=Brown |first=Colin |title=The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p0UJmgEACAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Zondervan Publishing House|isbn=978-0-310-33230-5 |page=251}}</ref> and is the translation found in the [[Tridentine Mass]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Roman Catholic Daily Missal, 1962 |publisher=Angelus Press |year=2005 |isbn=1-892331-29-2 |location=Kansas City |pages=902}}</ref>

Some translators have proposed slight variations on ''daily'' as the most accurate. [[Richard Francis Weymouth]], an English schoolmaster, translated it as "bread for today" in the [[Weymouth New Testament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblestudytools.com/wnt/matthew/6.html|title=Matthew 6 - WNT - Bible Study Tools}}</ref> [[Edgar J. Goodspeed]] in [[An American Translation]] used "bread for the day." Another option is to view {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} as an allusion to [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 16:4 where God promises to provide a day's portion of [[manna]] every day. This verse could be an attempt to translate the Hebrew of "bread sufficient to the day" into Greek.<ref name="Evans2012">{{cite book|author=Craig A. Evans|title=Matthew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lbo3BB8l1hEC&pg=PA147|date=6 February 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-81214-6 |page=147}}</ref>

The word {{transliteration|grc|epiousei}} ({{lang|grc|ἐπιούσῃ}}) is found in Acts 7:26, 16:11, 20:15, 21:18 and 23:11. This word is typically taken to mean "next" in the context of "the next day or night".<ref name="biblehub1966"/> It has been suggested that {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} is a masculinised version of {{transliteration|grc|epiousa}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Ben |title=The Early Christians: Their World Mission & Self-Discovery |date=2009 |publisher=Wipf and Stock |location=Eugene, Oregon, USA |isbn=978-1606083703  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UflLAwAAQBAJ&q=epiousios+female+epiouse&pg=PA20 |pages=20–21}}</ref>

Today, most scholars reject the translation of {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} as meaning ''daily''. The word ''daily'' only has a weak connection to any proposed [[etymologies]] for {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}}. Moreover, all other instances of "daily" in the English [[New Testament]] translate {{transliteration|grc|hemera}} ({{lang|grc|ἡμέρα}}, "day"), which does not appear in this usage.<ref name="greek-english interlinear">''The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament'', 1993, The United Bible Societies, (UBS4 Greek text), page x of Introduction</ref><ref name="herema-bible">Occurrences of ''hemera'' include:{{ubl|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/20-2.htm|title=Matthew 20:2 Interlinear: and having agreed with the workmen for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/luke/9-23.htm|title=Luke 9:23 Interlinear: And he said unto all, 'If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me;}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/6-1.htm|title=Acts 6:1 Interlinear: And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/17-11.htm|title=Acts 17:11 Interlinear: and these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, they received the word with all readiness of mind, every day examining the Writings whether those things were so;}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/17-17.htm|title=Acts 17:17 Interlinear: therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshipping persons, and in the market-place every day with those who met with him.}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/19-9.htm|title=Acts 19:9 Interlinear: and when certain were hardened and were disbelieving, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, having departed from them, he did separate the disciples, every day reasoning in the school of a certain Tyrannus.}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/2_corinthians/11-28.htm|title=2 Corinthians 11:28 Interlinear: apart from the things without -- the crowding upon me that is daily -- the care of all the assemblies.}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/hebrews/3-13.htm|title=Hebrews 3:13 Interlinear: but exhort ye one another every day, while the To-day is called, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of the sin}}|{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/interlinear/hebrews/10-11.htm|title=Hebrews 10:11 Interlinear: and every priest, indeed, hath stood daily serving, and the same sacrifices many times offering, that are never able to take away sins.}}}}</ref> Because there are several other Greek words based on {{transliteration|grc|hemera}} that mean ''daily'', no reason is apparent to use such an obscure word as {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}}.<ref name="Pitre2015_172"/> The ''daily'' translation also makes the term redundant, with "this day" already making clear the bread is for the current day.<ref name="Ayo2002">{{cite book|author=Nicholas Ayo|title=The Lord's Prayer: A Survey Theological and Literary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZSRBTn_XmIC&pg=PA59|year=2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-1453-9 |page=59}}</ref>

===Supersubstantial===
In the [[Vulgate]] Jerome translated {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} in Matthew 6:11 as ''supersubstantial'' (Latin: {{lang|la|supersubstantialem}}), coining a new word not before seen in Latin.<ref name="Pitre2015_172"/> This came from the analysis of the prefix {{transliteration|grc|epi-}} as ''super'' and {{transliteration|grc|[[ousia]]}} in the sense of ''substance''. The Catholic Church believes that this, or ''superessential'', is the most literal English translation via Latin, which lacks a grammatical form for ''being'', the literal translation of the Greek {{transliteration|grc|ousia}}, and so substance or essence are used instead.

====Advocates====
This interpretation was supported by early writers such as [[Augustine]], [[Cyril of Jerusalem]], [[Cyprian of Carthage]] and [[John Cassian]].<ref name="Ayo2002"/><ref>[[#refPitre2015|Pitre 2015]], p. 159</ref>

This translation is used by some modern Bibles. In the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]] English translation of the Vulgate (Matthew 6:11) reads "give us this day our supersubstantial bread".<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|6:11}}</ref> The translation of ''supersubstantial bread''<ref>E.g., in [[Richard Challoner]]'s 1750 revision of the [[Douay Bible]]: "Give us this day our supersubstantial bread". Quoted in Blackford Condit's [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IHBbAAAAMAAJ/page/n329 ''The History of the English Bible''], A.S. Barnes & Co.: New York, 1882. p. 323.</ref> has also been associated with the [[Eucharist]], as early as in the time of the [[Church Fathers]]<ref name="Ratzinger2007">{{cite book |last=Ratzinger |first=Joseph |author-link=Pope Benedict XVI |title=Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration|publisher=Doubleday| year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58617-198-8|title-link=Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration |page=154 }}</ref> and later also by the [[Council of Trent]] (1551).<ref>[http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct13.html Trent, Session 13, Chapter VIII]</ref>

In 1979, the {{lang|la|[[Nova Vulgata]]}}, also called the Neo-Vulgate, became the official Latin edition of the Bible published by the [[Holy See]] for use in the contemporary [[Roman rite]]. It is not an edition of the historical Vulgate, but a revision of the text intended to accord with modern critical Hebrew and Greek texts and produce a style closer to classical Latin. The {{lang|la|Nova Vulgata}} retains the same correspondence-of-meaning for {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} in the Lord's Prayer contained in the Gospel according to Matthew<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_nt_evang-matthaeum_lt.html Matthew]</ref> and Luke<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_nt_evang-lucam_lt.html Luke]</ref> as in the Vulgate, i.e., {{lang|la|supersubstantialem}} and {{lang|la|quotidianum}}.

According to the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]], there are several meanings to {{transliteration|grc|epiousios}}, and that {{transliteration|grc|epi-ousios}} is most literally translated as ''super-essential'':<ref name="CatCat"/>

<blockquote>"Daily" ({{transliteration|grc|epiousios}}) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a [[Pedagogy|pedagogical]] repetition of "this day," to confirm us in trust "without reservation." Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence. Taken literally ({{transliteration|grc|epi-ousios}}: "'''super-essential'''"), it refers directly to the [[Bread of Life]], the [[Body of Christ]], the "medicine of immortality," without which we have no life within us. Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: "this day" is [[the Day of the Lord]], the day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the [[Eucharist]] that is already the foretaste of the kingdom to come. For this reason it is fitting for the Eucharistic liturgy to be celebrated each day.</blockquote>

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, "supersubstantial" is thought to be a more accurate translation.  Here is how [[Thomas Hopko|Father Thomas Hopko]] of [[Saint Vladimir's Seminary]] in New York explains it:

<blockquote>{{transliteration|grc|epiousios}} [...] [is] an absolutely unique word. Etymologically [...], {{transliteration|grc|epi-}} means "on top of" and {{transliteration|grc|-ousios}} means "substance" or "being". So it means suprasubstantial bread. Suprasubstantial bread: more-than-necessary bread. In the first Latin translation of the Lord's Prayer, done by Jerome it was [...], {{lang|la|panem supersubstantialem}}. Somewhere along the way it became "{{lang|la|cotidianum}}, daily". Luther translated "daily" from the beginning: {{lang|de|tägliches Brot}}.

But in all languages that traditionally Eastern Christians use—Greek, Slavonic, and all the Arabic languages: Aramaic, Arabic—it doesn't say that; it just says a word that's similar to that [...] How do they translate it [into those languages]? [...] they claim that the best translation would be: "Give us today the bread of tomorrow". Give us today the bread of the coming age, the bread that when you eat it, you can never die. What is the food of the coming age? It's God himself, God's word, God's Son, God's lamb, God's bread, which we already have here on earth, on earth, before the second coming. So what we're really saying is, "Feed us today with the bread of the coming age", because we are taught by Jesus not to seek the bread that perishes, but the bread that, you eat it, you can never die.<ref>[[Ancient Faith Radio]], [https://www.ancientfaith.com/specials/hopko_lectures/the_lords_prayer March 16, 2008]</ref></blockquote>

====Eucharist metaphor====
This translation has often been connected to the [[eucharist]]. The bread necessary for existence is the [[communion bread]] of the [[Last Supper]]. That the gospel writers needed to create a new word indicates to Eugene LaVerdiere, an American Catholic priest and biblical scholar of the post-Vatican II era, that they are describing something new. Eating the communion bread at the Last Supper created the need for a new word for this new concept.<ref name="LaVerdiere1996">{{cite book|author=Eugene LaVerdiere|title=The Eucharist in the New Testament and the Early Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1BjjBe4dL4C&pg=PA9|year=1996|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-6152-9 |page=9}}</ref>

''Supersubstantial'' was the dominant Latin translation of {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} from Matthew for many centuries after Jerome, and influenced church ritual. It was the basis for the argument advanced by theologians such as [[Cyprian]] that communion must be eaten daily.<ref name="Luz, Ulrich 1992. pg. 381"/> That only bread is mentioned led to the practice of giving the laity only the bread and not the wine of the Eucharist. This verse was cited in arguments against the [[Utraquists]]. The translation was reconsidered with the [[Protestant Reformation]]. [[Martin Luther]] originally kept ''supersubstantial'' but switched to ''daily'' by 1528.<ref name="Luz, Ulrich 1992. pg. 381"/>

====Criticisms====
Those rejecting this translation include some Roman Catholic Biblical scholars, such as [[Raymond E. Brown]],<ref name="ReferenceA">Raymond E. Brown. "The Pater Noster as an Eschatological Prayer." ''Theological Studies'' 1961</ref> [[Jean Carmignac]],<ref name="Carmignac1969">{{cite book|author=Jean Carmignac|title=Recherches sur le "Notre Père."|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6gAAAAAMAAJ|year=1969|publisher=Letouzey & Ané}}</ref> and Nicholas Ayo.<ref name="Ayo2002"/>

There is no known source word from Aramaic or Hebrew, the native languages of Jesus, that translates into the Greek word {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}}. In fact, there is no word in either of these languages that easily translates as ''supersubstantial'',<ref name="Pitre2015_172"/> a unique translation for a unique Greek word.

M. Eugene Boring, a Protestant theologian at [[Texas Christian University]], claims that the connection with the Eucharist is ahistoric because he thinks that the ritual only developed some time after the Gospel was written and that the author of Matthew does not seem to have any knowledge of or interest in the Eucharist.<ref>Boring, Eugene "Gospel of Matthew." ''The New Interpreter's Bible, volume 8'' Abingdon, 1995</ref> [[Craig Blomberg]], also a Protestant New Testament scholar, agrees that these "concepts had yet to be introduced when Jesus gave his original prayer and therefore could not have been part of his original meaning."<ref name="Blomberg2015">{{cite book|author=Craig L. Blomberg|title=Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L61jCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131|date=5 March 2015|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-9933-3 |page=131}}</ref>

===Necessary for existence===
Another interpretation is to link {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} to the Greek word {{transliteration|grc|[[ousia]]}} meaning both the verb ''to be'' and the noun ''substance.'' [[Origen]] was the first writer to comment on the unusual word. A native Greek speaker writing a century and half after the Gospels were composed, he did not recognize the word and thought it was an original [[neologism]]. Origen thought "bread necessary for existence" was the most likely meaning, connecting it to the ''to be'' translation of {{transliteration|grc|ousia}}.<ref name="Brown1975"/>

[[George Ricker Berry]] translated the word as simply "necessary" in 1897.<ref>[[George Ricker Berry|Berry, George Ricker]].  The Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament.  1966 (1897).  Zondervan Publications.  p. 13, 189.</ref>  Philosopher [[Raïssa Maritain]], wife of philosopher [[Jacques Maritain]], writes that during her era of the 1940s this translation was found to be the most acceptable by modern scholars. Her own conclusion was stated as being in agreement with [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]], that being the "bread we need." This was seen as vague enough to cover what was viewed as the three possible etymological meanings:  (1) literal – the "bread of tomorrow or the bread of the present day," (2) analogical – the "bread we need in order to subsist," and (3) spiritual/mystical – the bread "which is above our substance" (i.e., supersubstantial).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/notlp05.htm|title=Notes on the Lord's Prayer}}</ref>

[[Joseph Fitzmyer]] translates the verse as "give us this day our bread for subsistence." He connects this to the Aramaic [[targum]] translations of Proverbs 30:8.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fitzmyer |first=Joseph |author-mask=3 |title=The Gospel According to Luke 1-9 |series=[[Anchor Bible Series|Anchor Yale Bible]] |volume=28 |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-3850-0515-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt28afitz/page/900 900] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt28afitz/page/900 }}</ref>

Like ''daily'', this translation also has the problem that there are well known Greek words that could have been used instead.<ref name="Luz, Ulrich 1992. pg. 381">Luz, Ulrich. ''Matthew 1-7 A Continental Commentary.'' 1992. pg. 381</ref>

===For the future===
The "for the future" translation is today held by the majority of scholars.<ref name="Brant Pitre">[[#refPitre2015|Pitre 2015]], p. 175</ref> Early supporters of this translation include [[Cyril of Alexandria]] and [[Peter of Laodicea]] by way of linking {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} with the verb {{transliteration|grc|epienai}}, "of tomorrow."<ref>{{cite web|last=Maritain|first=Raïssa|title=Notes on the Lord's Prayer - Chapter III The Last Four Petitions|url=https://www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/notlp05.htm#n10|access-date=2020-09-27|website=University of Notre Dame}}</ref><ref name="Oakman2008">{{cite book|author=Douglas E. Oakman|title=Jesus and the Peasants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdNLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA217|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-59752-275-5 |page=217}}</ref> According to Jewish theologian [[Herbert Basser]], this translation was also considered (but eventually rejected) as a possibility by [[Jerome]], who noted it as an aside in his commentary to Matthew that the [[Gospel of the Hebrews]] used {{transliteration|he|ma[h]ar}} ("for tomorrow") in this verse.<ref name="BasserCohen2015">{{cite book|author1=Herbert Basser|author2=Marsha B. Cohen|title=The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions: A Relevance-based Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DRzBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA185|date=13 March 2015|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-29178-2 |page=185}}</ref>

[[Raymond E. Brown]] claims it is also indicated by early [[Bohairic]] and [[Sahidic]] sources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Brown|first=Raymond E.|date=May 1, 1961|title=The Pater Noster as an Eschatological Prayer|url=http://cdn.theologicalstudies.net/22/22.2/22.2.1.pdf|journal=Theological Studies|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=175–208|doi=10.1177/004056396102200201|s2cid=170976178|access-date=10 May 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081846/http://cdn.theologicalstudies.net/22/22.2/22.2.1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/> Referencing {{transliteration|grc|epiousei}} in Acts 7:26, the Lutheran theologian [[Albert Schweitzer]], reintroduced this translation in modern times.<ref name="Aune2013"/> A "for the future" reading leads to a cluster of related translations, including: "bread for tomorrow," "bread for the future," and "bread for the coming day."<ref name="Aune2013"/>

Beyond the literal meaning, this translation can also be read in an [[eschatological]] context: "the petition for an anticipation of the world to come."<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://adoremus.org/2007/07/15/The-Meaning-of-quotOur-Daily-Breadquot/|title=The Meaning of "Our Daily Bread"|date=15 July 2007|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228081547/https://adoremus.org/2007/07/15/The-Meaning-of-quotOur-Daily-Breadquot/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Others see ''tomorrow'' being referenced to the end times and the bread that of the [[Heavenly banquet|messianic feast]].<ref name="BalzSchneider2004">{{cite book|author1=horst Balz|author2=Gerhard M. Schneider|title=Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Os_sLgui9-IC&pg=PA32|date=20 January 2004|publisher=Eerdmans Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8028-2808-8 |page=32}}</ref> Raymond Brown argues that all the other phrases of the [[Lord's Prayer]] are eschatological, so it would be incongruous for this phrase to be speaking prosaically about bread for eating.<ref name=":0" /> [[Eduard Schweizer]], a Swiss protestant New Testament scholar and theologian, disagrees. Humble bread was not traditionally presented as part of the messianic feast and the prosaic need for bread to survive would have been a universal sentiment of Jesus' followers.<ref name="Schweizer1975">{{cite book|author=Eduard Schweizer|title=The Good News According to Matthew|url=https://archive.org/details/goodnewsaccordin00schw_3|url-access=registration|year=1975|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-8042-0251-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/goodnewsaccordin00schw_3/page/154 154]}}</ref>

The Catholic theologian Brant Pitre acknowledges the "for the future'" interpretation is held by a majority of scholars, but criticizes it for lacking support among ancient Christian interpreters.<ref name="Brant Pitre"/>  Pitre also cites that an adjectival form for "tomorrow" exists in ancient Greek, {{lang|grc|αὔριον}} in Matthew 6:34, and could have been used instead of the one-time-use {{lang|grc|ἐπιούσιον}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/1/6K.HTM|title=The New American Bible - IntraText Concordances: "tomorrow"}}</ref><ref name="Pitre2015_172"/>

Another potential issue with a "for the future" translation is it seems to contradict [[Matthew 6:31]], where only a few verses later Jesus tells his followers not to worry about food, that God will take care of such needs. [[W.D. Davies]], a Welsh Congregationalist scholar, and [[Dale Allison]], an American New Testament scholar, however, do not see a contradiction: [[Matthew 6:34]] tells one not to be anxious about such needs: that a pious person asks God in prayer for these needs to be filled, may rather be why there is no need to worry.<ref name="Davies(Jr.)1988"/>

===Doesn't run out===
[[Kenneth E. Bailey]], a professor of theology and linguistics, proposed "give us today the bread that doesn't run out" as the correct translation.<ref name="Bailey2009" /> 

The [[Syriac versions of the Bible]] were some of the first translations of the Gospels from the Greek into another language. Syriac is also close to Jesus' own [[Aramaic]], and the translators close in time and language to Jesus should thus have had considerable insight into his original meanings. In Syriac {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} is translated as {{transliteration|syc|ameno}}, meaning lasting, perpetual, constant, trustworthy, never-ceasing, never-ending, or always.<ref name="Bailey2009">{{cite book|author=Kenneth E. Bailey|title=Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjQAAebtAmEC&pg=PA120|date=20 August 2009|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-7585-6 |page=120}}</ref>

===Estate===
Lutheran scholar Douglas E. Oakman suggests "give us today bread in abundance" as another translation. He notes that in the contemporary literature {{transliteration|grc|ousia}} can mean substance, but it also has a concrete meaning of a large, substantial, estate. Thus as a cognate of the word {{transliteration|grc|periousios}}, {{transliteration|grc|epiousion}} could refer to plentiful or abundant bread.<ref name="Oakman2015">{{cite book|author=Douglas E. Oakman|title=Jesus, Debt, and the Lord's Prayer: First-Century Debt and Jesus' Intentions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMzwCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|date=30 April 2015|publisher=James Clarke & Co|isbn=978-0-227-17529-3 |page=64}}</ref>

Oakman also notes contemporary sources that translate {{transliteration|grc|ousia}} as the royal or imperial estate and proposes that the verse could originally have meant "give us the royal bread ration for today."<ref name="Oakman2015"/>

===That belongs to it===
Davies and Allison state that the verse has also been translated as "give us this day the bread that belongs to it," though they concede that this expression is little recognized by modern scholars.<ref name="Davies(Jr.)1988"/>