Libera nos a malo
“Deliver us from evil.”
Vulgate, Matthew 6:13
What does “Libera nos a malo” mean?
Libera nos a malo translates as “Deliver us from evil.”
It is a plea for protection from evil and harm. Millions repeat it daily in the Lord’s Prayer.
“Libera nos a malo” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Libera | deliver! free! | a command (imperative) of libero, “I free”; addressed to one person, here God |
| nos | us | accusative plural (direct object) of ego, “I”: the first person plural pronoun |
| a | from | preposition that takes the ablative case; shortened from ab before consonants |
| malo | evil | ablative singular of malum, “evil, harm”; could also be read as “the evil one”, since malo may be masculine or neuter |
How to pronounce “Libera nos a malo”
Both pronunciations sound the same here, as there is no c or g before e or i and no v. Stress the first syllable of libera and malo.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “free us from evil”. It is the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Latin Vulgate version of Matthew 6:13, the translation into Latin largely credited to Jerome in the late 4th century.
Jesus teaches the prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, and it was originally written in Greek. The Greek phrase behind malo can be read either as “evil” in general or as “the evil one”, and the Latin form malo keeps that same ambiguity.
In Latin the line is best known from the Pater Noster, which Catholics prayed in Latin for centuries and which is still sung and recited in Latin today. It also appears in the liturgy and rosary devotions, which is why many people know it by heart.
How to use “Libera nos a malo”
Fits a house blessing, a rosary card, a prayer journal or a protective charm worn as jewellery. It works best when you want a short, recognisable line from the Pater Noster rather than the whole prayer.
- Latin
- Libera nos a malo
- English
- Deliver us from evil.
- Source
- Vulgate, Matthew 6:13
- Era
- Church Latin
- Theme
- Faith
Common mistakes
- It is not a full sentence from the whole prayer. The line before it is “et ne nos inducas in tentationem” (“and lead us not into temptation”), and the two belong together.
- Malo here means “from evil” (or “from the evil one”). It is not the verb malo, “I prefer”, which is a different word that happens to look identical.
- Do not change nos to another form for a personal version. Libera me a malo (“deliver me from evil”) is correct, but libera nos with a different case is not.
- Some Vulgate and liturgical texts add “Amen” or the Protestant doxology “quia tuum est regnum”. Neither is part of this verse in the Vulgate.
Questions about “Libera nos a malo”
What does “Libera nos a malo” mean literally?
“Free us from evil.” Libera is a command to free or deliver, nos is “us”, and a malo is “from evil” (or “from the evil one”).
Where does “Libera nos a malo” come from?
It is the last line of the Lord’s Prayer in the Latin Vulgate, Matthew 6:13, translated from the original Greek in the late 4th century.
How do you pronounce “Libera nos a malo”?
Say “LEE-beh-rah nohs ah MAH-loh”. Classical and Church Latin sound the same for this phrase.
Is “Libera nos a malo” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. It is grammatically correct and is the standard Vulgate wording. To say “deliver me” instead, use “Libera me a malo”.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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