Te Inoi a te Ariki

E to matou Matua i te rangi
Kia tapu tou Ingoa
Kia tae mai tou rangatiratanga
Kia meatia tau e pai ai
ki runga ki te whenua,
kia rite ano ki to te rangi.

Homai ki a matou aianei he taro ma matou mo tenei ra.
Murua o matou hara
Me matou hoki e muru nei i o te hunga e hara ana ki a matou.

Aua hoki matou e kawea kia whakawaia;
Engari whakaorangia matou i te kino:

Nou hoki te rangatiratanga, te kaha, me te kororia,

Ake, ake, ake. Amine.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Parent in Heaven

Sacred is your Name
Bring us Your Chiefly rule;
May it happen in the way that is to You good; may it happen in the same way on earth as in Heaven.
Give us everything that we need today.

Seize us and take away everything bad; our sins, all that has gone wrong; all that will stop us being with You.
Do not lead us into enticement;
May we be whole, away from things evil; may we have life.
Through Your chiefly position, You have the power and the glory.

Forever, Amen

A caring, loving parent . . .

In looking at the Maori text it is not satisfactory just to parrot words that are seemingly equivalent to the English. One needs to feel the pull of the Maori words in order to be nourished by them spiritually.

Matua

In the first line the word Matua is used as an equivalent to Father; but Matua in the Maori phrase is a much bigger word. It can mean parent - a female as well as a male, suggesting the caring, loving, disciplining, helping, protecting things we want to see in God. It imparts a deeper aspect to the phrase of the prayer.

tapu

The second line contains two important words: tapu and Ingoa. Many Maori, and also Pakeha (non-Maori of generally European descent) , regard tapu as meaning forbidden. It is also descriptive of reverence, respect, honour - feelings aroused by thoughts of God. God is indeed being treated as very special and important.

Ingoa

Ingoa, meaning name, is very important to many people of all races, and here it reflects the special and important character of God.

rangatiratanga

In the next line appears the word rangatiratanga - the chiefly rule of a rangatira. To many Maori rangatira means the chief, the boss, the big one. In Maori society rangatira implies responsible leadership, guidance, education and nurture of the people. Here is regarded a God who creates an environment for his people; one who cares and protects, and to whom there is loyalty as part of a relationship. The Maori prayer asks for the arrival of such a chiefly rule.

Kia meatia ...

The words Kia meatia ... are highly idiomatic, and the line in which they appear may be translated May it happen in the way that is to you [God] good. The prayer continues with the plea May it happen in the same way on earth as in Heaven.

Homai

Taro

Taro, used as an equivalent to bread, covers food that is useful to the Maori in all sorts of situations. It is the food of life, the staff of life, everything needed for human life. Used after homai (give) it incorporates a completely comprehensive request to God for daily support.

Muru

Muru, the first part of the word murua, commencing the ninth line, recalls an ancient Maori practice whereby upon a person's death his or her contemporaries would descend upon the deceased's house and strip it of everything it contained.

In effect the Maori prayer says Come muru us; seize us and take away everything bad; our sins, all that has gone wrong; all that will stop us being with you, God. It is a very powerful word.

Aua hoki matou ...

The phrase Lead us not into temptation has always created problems and arguments among Biblical scholars. The Maori translation is closer to this form of the prayer than the modern Save us from the time of trial. The Maori version asks God not to lead us into enticements; and one immediately questions whether God in fact entices us into wrong-doing, or whether it is God's aim to make us strong to resist transgressions. Christians certainly get themselves into situations where they are tempted, and they hope they will not be put in a position where they must choose between their faith and death.

Engari ...

whakaorangia

Deliver us from evil has been expanded into the Maori line beginning Engari. It contains the word whaka-ora-ngia which itself includes the word ora, an important part of the greeting Kia ora. Ora is life, health, wellbeing, happiness. It suggests the Hebrew word Shalom, but it comprehends not only peace, but also life, salvation and wholeness. The Maori prayer says May you be a whole person, away from things evil; may you have life.

Nou hoki ...

The Maori translation ends with an invocation that God be glorified because of the rangatiratanga, that power and glory attributed to God early in the prayer.