Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do

Cultural  

1. A prayer that Jesus spoke on the cross, concerning those who put him to death. (See Crucifixion.)

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Example Sentences

Quoting the Bible, she said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

There is, of course, dramatic precedent for forgiving the unrepentant: the words of Jesus on the Cross, praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

From Time Magazine Archive

The proceedings were similar to those which took place throughout the western world and in far-away missionary lands�a multitudinous echoing of the cry of Christ: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

From Time Magazine Archive

And Christ said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," and there is no man who perhaps knows what he does.

From Tragic Sense Of Life by Flitch, J. E. Crawford (John Ernest Crawford)

So He spoke, and on the Cross He made the great word luminous for ever by His own prayer for His murderers: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

From The Teaching of Jesus by Jackson, George