Matthew 6
6
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
1 “Be [very]careful not to do your #6:1 Lit righteousness before men.good deeds publicly, to be seen by men; otherwise you will have no reward [prepared and awaiting you] with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not blow a trumpet before you [to advertise it], as the hypocrites do [like actors acting out a role] in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored and recognized and praised by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already]have their reward in full. 3But when you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing [give in complete secrecy], 4so that your charitable acts will be done in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
5 “Also, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray [publicly]standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already]have their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. [1 Kin 18:25-29] 8So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, # 6:9 I.e. as a model or pattern. in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
# 6:9 I.e. set apart, keep and treat as holy, revere. Hallowed be Your name. [Luke 11:2-4]
10‘#6:10 A plea for God’s kingdom to be inaugurated on earth.Your kingdom come,
Your # 6:10 Including what God wishes to be done by the individual believer—His commands and precepts. will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our # 6:11 I.e. life’s essentials. daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our # 6:12 I.e. sins, moral failures. debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
13 ‘And do not # 6:13 I.e. lead us away from situations where we are vulnerable and have the opportunity to sin. God does not tempt man (see James 1:13) but does allow man to be tested. lead us into temptation, but deliver us from # 6:13 Or the evil one. evil. # 6:13 This clause is not found in early mss. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ [Luke 11:2-4]
14 For if you forgive # 6:14 Gr anthropoi. others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.
Fasting, The True Treasure, Wealth (Mammon)
16 “And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a sad and dismal face [like actors, discoloring their faces with ashes or dirt] so that their fasting may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already]have their reward in full. [Is 58:5] 17But when you fast, put oil on your head [as you normally would to groom your hair] and wash your face 18so that your fasting will not be noticed by people, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done]in secret will reward you.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves [material]treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. 23But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very]light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!
24 “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 [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? [Luke 12:22-31] 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed]nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops]into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27And who of you by worrying can add one #6:27 Lit cubit, here probably applied metaphorically to a lifespan.hour to [the length of]his life? [Ps 39:5-7] 28And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. [1 Kin 10:4-7] 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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St Matthew 6
6
1TAKE heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.
2Therefore when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
3But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.
4That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.
5And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
6But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.
7And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard.
8Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him.
9Thus therefore shall you pray: 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 supersubstantial bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
14For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences.
15But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.
16And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
17But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
18That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.
19Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal.
20But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal.
21For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
22The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome.
23But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!
24No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment?
26Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?
27And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit?
28And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin.
29But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.
30And if the grass of the field, which is to day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?
31Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?
32For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.
33Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Be not therefore solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.