The New Testament was codified over several centuries through a gradual process of spiritual discernment, use in worship, and debate. The 27 books we know today were first officially listed together in 367 AD and finalized through a series of church councils by the early 5th century. 

The books of the New Testament are much easier to date than the Old Testament. They were obviously all written after the death and resurrection of Jesus in 33 AD and were mostly in their completed forms by 100 AD, when Christian writers began referencing and quoting from them.  Yet, these translations were taken from an oral tradition in Jesus’ Aramaic language, then into Peshitta, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and onto other languages. Each translation created changes because of linguistic and cultural issues, as well as, early Christian Church battles over “acceptable” theology, dogma, and rituals.

There is some dispute about the exact dating of the Gospels (most of which were oral testimony written down after the fact) and most of the epistles. 

The compilation of these texts into a unified canon involved several key milestones:

• Book of Matthew: After 70 AD, preserving oral accounts from the previous generation 
• Book of Mark: 64-70 AD, preserving oral accounts from the previous generation 
• Book of Luke: Debated; could be any time between 62-90 AD, preserving earlier oral accounts 
• Book of John: 90-110 AD, preserving earlier oral accounts 
• Acts: 62-90 AD (by Luke) 
• Late 1st Century: All 27 documents were written and circulated among early Christian communities, though they were not yet compiled into a single book.
• The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) was convened by Roman Emperor Constantine to restore unity in the Christian Church. Its primary goals were to resolve the Arian controversy regarding the divinity of Jesus, standardize the date of Easter, and establish uniform church laws (canon law).The criteria for what was deemed acceptable typically required apostolic authorship (or direct connection to an apostle), widespread acceptance across different church regions, and an orthodox interpretation of doctrine.
• 367 AD: Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria was the first to list the exact 27 books we use today in his annual Easter letter. Many other “alternative” early Christian gospels and documents were rejected, suppressed and destroyed for theological reasons by this time.

• It wasn’t until the late 4th century (c. 382 AD) that St. Jerome translated these Greek Gospels into Latin, creating the Vulgate from which the rest of the Western world derived its Bibles for centuries.
• 393–419 AD: Regional councils in North Africa—the Synod of Hippo in 393 and the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419—affirmed the 27-book canon. 
• Latin to Old English (circa 950 AD): The earliest surviving English translations of the New Testament are interlinear glosses in the Lindisfarne Gospels (circa 950–970 AD). These early monks translated the Latin Vulgate into the Northumbrian dialect of Old English (e.g., “Fader ūrer ðū arð in heofnum…”) rather than working from the original Aramaic text.

• Direct Aramaic to English (1892): The first well-known English translation drawn directly from 1st-century Aramaic texts appeared in 1892.

The Lord’s Prayer has had the same translation issues as the New Testament. It was only translated from the original Aramaic to modern English in 1892. This translation is much different than the King James’ version of the Lord’s prayer. It appears more like the “lost” Gnostic documents from the 2^nd century. These emphasizes achieving salvation not through faith or obedience, but through gnosis—secret, mystical, or intuitive knowledge of the divine–you hold God within yourself.  

Greek to Latin (4th Century AD):  Historically, Jesus delivered the prayer in Aramaic, but the Gospel writers (Matthew and Luke) recorded it in ancient Greek. It wasn’t until late 4th century (c. 382 AD) that St. Jerome translated these Greek Gospels into Latin, creating the Vulgate from which the rest of the Western world derived its Bibles for centuries.  

Latin to Old English (circa 950 AD): The earliest surviving English translations of the prayer are interlinear glosses in the Lindisfarne Gospels (circa 950–970 AD). These early monks translated the Latin Vulgate into the Northumbrian dialect of Old English (e.g., “Fader ūrer au ar in hafnium…”) rather than working from the original Aramaic text. 

Direct Aramaic to English (1892): The first well-known English translation drawn directly from 1st-century Aramaic texts appeared only in 1892. 

Below is the English to Aramaic translation of the Lord’s Prayer.

english	aramaic
Our Father which art in heaven	Most Holy ONENESS of the Cosmos: Source of LIGHT and SOUND and Breath; You birth me and ALL that is!
Hallowed be thy name	Clear the space of my Heart so that YOU may LIVE within me.
Thy kingdom come	Your “I CAN” O Holy ONE, is my “I can,” so birth this new image in and through me!
Thy will be done in earth, as it is In heaven	As YOUR desire is in heaven, make it so in all the earth…especially in the earth that is my body.
Give us this day our daily bread	Produce with life and soul, food for our eating, and an illuminated measure of insight and understanding for this day…moment by moment.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors	Return us to our original state of slender ties—releasing and letting go with every breath, the tangled threads that bind us—just as we release (and no longer hold on to) the tangled threads of others’ guilt. Help us to FLOW and let go!
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil	Do not let us enter into anything that causes us inner vacillation or agitation from our true purpose in life.  Give us freedom to act at the right time and produce good fruit.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.Amen.	For Your “I CAN” is the Life Force energy of the Cosmos, giving Light and Sound to ALL that IS; in harmony and balance from age to age (as in a Dance)!   Amen

Lord’s Prayer in an Aramaic Chant