UNA VECCHIA SCHEGGIA GNOSTICA? ANNOTAZIONI SUL «NON ABBANDONARCI» DELLA CEI

Abstract

Instead of rendering the original text of Mt 6, 13 = Lc 11, 4 (μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν) ‘Lead us not into temptation’, the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) adopted an allegedly better translation, namely ‘Do not abandon us to
temptation’. But there is no philological evidence to support that claim, for both the direct and the indirect Greek tradition of this verse in the Lord’s Prayer preserves the same unequivocal wording. This paper suggests a line of inquiry into some pre-Vulgate Latin and vernacular sources (whose readings are, approximately, ‘Do not allow us to be led into temptation’ and ‘Do not abandon us in temptation’), which appear to belong to the convoluted Diatessaronic tradition
unless they are merely intrusive glosses. At any rate, these pre-Vulgate forms are of no value whatsoever for determining the wording of the Gospels, and should be ignored by every serious translator.