I was loaned this CD by my Uncle recently, called Immortal Memory by Lisa Gerrard and Patrick Cassidy. The following comes from the CD sleeve which I hope may interest you. A bit of cultural learning!
In the words of the Aramaic Jesus – Our Lord’s Prayer
From the Syriac Aramaic manucript of the Gospels known as the Peshitta Version. The Church of the East regards the Peshitta (“sincere” or “true”) as the most authoritative version of the New Testament.
Abwoom d,bwahmaya
Nethqadash shmakh
Teytey malkuthakh
Nehwey tzevyanach aykanna d’bwahmaya aph b’arha
Hawvlan lachma disunqanan yaomana
Washboqlan khaubayn aykana daph khan shbwoqan l’khayyabayn
Wela tahlan l’nesyuna ela patzan min bisha
Metol dilakhie malkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l’ahlam almin
Ameyn
Our Father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever
Amen
Aramaic was the language of Semitic peoples throughout the ancient Middle East. It was employed by the great empires of Assyria and Babylon. After the captivity it became the vernacular of the Jewish people and was the native language of Jesus.
Who better to counterpoint the pseudo-religious rhetoric of the western leaders than Christ, the prince of peace, with his words of love and forgiveness in his native tongue, the language of ancient Middle East ?
