Matthew 6
6
Teaching about Giving to the Needy
1 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Teaching about Prayer and Fasting
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need, # 6:11 Or Give us today our food for the day; or Give us today our food for tomorrow.
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, # 6:13a Or And keep us from being tested.
but rescue us from the evil one. # 6:13b Or from evil. Some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17But when you fast, comb your hair#6:17 Greek anoint your head. and wash your face. 18Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Teaching about Money and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33Seek the Kingdom of God#6:33 Some manuscripts do not include of God. above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
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Matthew 6: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Matthew 6
6
1 #
Mt 23.5. “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2“Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4#Col 3.23-24. so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 #
Mk 11.25; Lk 18.10-14. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 #
1 Kings 18.25-29. “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8#Mt 6.32; Lk 12.30. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9#Lk 11.2-4. Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread;#6.11 Or our bread for the morrow
12And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
13 #
2 Thess 3.3; Jn 17.15; Jas 1.13. And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.#6.13 Or the evil one. Other authorities, some ancient, add, in some form, For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 #
Mt 18.35; Mk 11.25; Eph 4.32; Col 3.13. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; 15but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 #
Is 58.5. “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18#Mt 6.4,6. that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
19 #
Lk 12.33-34; Mk 10.21; 1 Tim 6.17-19; Jas 5.1-3. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust#6.19 Or worm consume and where thieves break in and steal, 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust#6.20 Or worm consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 #
Lk 11.34-36; Mt 20.15; Mk 7.22. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 #
Lk 16.13. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.#6.24 Mammonis a Semitic word for money or riches
25 #
Lk 12.22-31; 10.41; 12.11; Phil 4.6; 1 Pet 5.7. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26#Mt 10.29. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27#Ps 39.5. And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?#6.27 Or to his stature 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29#1 Kings 10.4-7. yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30#Mt 8.26; 14.31; 16.8. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33#Mt 19.28; Mk 10.29-30; Lk 18.29-30. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
34“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America