Mattityahu (Mat) 6
6
1“Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2So, when you do tzedakah, don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 3But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
5“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 6But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7“And when you pray, don’t babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot. 8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9You, therefore, pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
10May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
11Give us the food we need today.
12Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
13And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
Amen.’
14For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.
16“Now when you fast, don’t go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 17But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself, 18so that no one will know you are fasting — except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
19“Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal. 20Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. 21For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also. 22‘The eye is the lamp of the body.’ So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; 23but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money.
25“Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? 27Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?
28“And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, 29yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!
31“So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already!
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Mattityahu (Mat) 6: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 6
6
Jesus Teaches About Giving
1“Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2“When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 3So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing.#6:3 don’t … doing Literally, “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” 4Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
(Lk. 11:2–4)
5“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 6But when you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father. He is there in that private place. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
7“And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them. 8Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9So this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
10We pray that your kingdom will come—
that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven.
11Give us the food we need for today.
12Forgive our sins,
just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us.
13Don’t let us be tempted,
but save us from the Evil One.’#6:13 Some Greek copies add: “For the kingdom and the power and the glory belong to you forever and ever. Amen.”
14Yes, if you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, then your Father in heaven will also forgive your wrongs. 15But if you don’t forgive others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrongs you do.
Jesus Teaches About Fasting
16“When you fast, don’t make yourselves look sad like the hypocrites. They put a look of suffering on their faces so that people will see they are fasting. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 17So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice. 18Then no one will know you are fasting, except your Father, who is with you even in private. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
(Lk. 12:33–34; 11:34–36; 16:13)
19“Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them. And thieves can break into your house and steal them. 20Instead, save your treasures in heaven, where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22“The only source of light for the body is the eye. If you look at people and want to help them, you will be full of light. 23But if you look at people in a selfish way, you will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, you have the worst kind of darkness.#6:23 Literally, “22 The lamp of the body is the eye. So, if your eye is pure, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. So, if the light in you is darkness, how much is the darkness.”
24“You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one and love the other, or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money#6:24 Money Or “mamona,” an Aramaic word meaning “wealth.” at the same time.
Put God’s Kingdom First
(Lk. 12:22–34)
25“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
28“And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. 29But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!
31“Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. 34So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.
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