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
Giving to Needy People
1“Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people. Don’t do those deeds to be seen by others. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you.
2“When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. 3When you give to needy people, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.
Prayer
5“When you pray, do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They want to be seen by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. 6When you pray, go into your room. Close the door and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly. 7When you pray, do not keep talking on and on. That is what ungodly people do. They think they will be heard because they talk a lot. 8Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.
9“This is how you should pray.
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
10May your kingdom come.
May what you want to happen be done
on earth as it is done in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our sins,
just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
13Keep us from sinning when we are tempted.
Save us from the evil one.’
14Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16“When you go without eating, do not look gloomy like those who only pretend to be holy. They make their faces look very sad. They want to show people they are fasting. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. 17But when you go without eating, put olive oil on your head. Wash your face. 18Then others will not know that you are fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.
Gather Riches in Heaven
19“Do not gather for yourselves riches on earth. Moths and rats can destroy them. Thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, gather for yourselves riches in heaven. There, moths and rats do not destroy them. There, thieves do not break in and steal them. 21Your heart will be where your riches are.
22“The eye is like a lamp for the body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body will be full of light. 23But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it is very dark!
24“No one can serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one of them and love the other. Or you will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can’t serve God and money at the same time.
Do Not Worry
25“I tell you, do not worry. Don’t worry about your life and what you will eat or drink. And don’t worry about your body and what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? Aren’t there more important things for the body than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work or make clothing. 29But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed like one of these flowers. 30If that is how God dresses the wild grass, won’t he dress you even better? Your faith is so small! After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. 31So don’t worry. Don’t say, ‘What will we eat?’ Or, ‘What will we drink?’ Or, ‘What will we wear?’ 32People who are ungodly run after all those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them. 33But put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all those things will also be given to you. 34So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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