Matthew 6
6
How to Give
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness # 6:1 Other mss read charitable giving in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.#Mt 23:5; Lk 6:24 3But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.#6:4 Other mss read will himself reward you openly#Jr 17:10; Lk 14:14; Col 3:23–24; Heb 4:13
How to Pray
5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. #
Mt 6:16; Mk 11:25; Lk 6:24; 18:11 6But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.#6:6 Other mss add openly#2Kg 4:33; Is 26:20; Mt 6:18 7When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.#1Kg 18:26; Ec 5:2 8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.#Mt 9:12; Mk 2:17; Lk 5:31; 9:11; 10:42; Ac 2:45
The Lord’s Prayer
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: #
Lk 11:1–13
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy. #
Lk 11:2; 1Co 7:14
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. #
Ps 103:20; Mt 3:2; 4:17; 26:42; Lk 22:42; Ac 21:14
11 Give us today our daily bread. # 6:11 Or our necessary bread, or our bread for tomorrow
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. #
Pr 30:8; Rm 4:4; Gl 5:3
13 And do not bring us into # 6:13 Or do not cause us to come into temptation,#Mt 26:41; 1Co 10:13; 2Pt 2:9
but deliver us from the evil one. # 6:13 Or from evil; some later mss add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. #
Mt 5:37; Jn 17:15; 2Th 3:3; 2Tm 4:18
14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. #
Mk 11:25; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13 15But if you don’t forgive others,#6:15 Other mss add their wrongdoing your Father will not forgive your offenses.
How to Fast
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces #
Is 58:5; Mt 18:35; Jms 2:13 so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,#Ru 3:3; 2Sm 12:20; Dn 10:3 18so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.#6:18 Other mss add openly
God and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures # 6:19 Or valuables on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.#Pr 23:4; Heb 13:5 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,#Mt 19:21; Lk 12:33; 18:22; 1Tm 6:19 where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!#Mt 4:16; 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 27:45
24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. #
Lk 16:13; Gl 1:10; Jms 4:4
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “Therefore I tell you: #
Lk 12:22–31
Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?#Lk 10:41; Php 4:6; 1Pt 5:7 26Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?#Jb 38:41; Ps 147:9; Mt 10:29–31 27Can any of you add one moment to his life span#6:27 Or add a single cubit to his height by worrying? 28And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith?#1Kg 10:4–7; Mt 8:26; 14:31; 16:8 31So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first the kingdom of God#6:33 Other mss omit of God#Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25 and his righteousness,#Mt 27:19; Lk 7:29; 23:41,47; Jn 5:30; 17:25; Ac 3:14 and all these things will be provided for you.#1Kg 3:13; Mt 19:28; Mk 10:29; Lk 18:29; 1Tm 4:8 34Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble#Mt 6:25; Lk 10:41; Php 4:6; 1Pt 5:7 of its own.
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Matthew 6: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Matthew 6
6
Giving
1 #
Mt 23.5. When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from your Father in heaven.
2When you give to the poor, don't blow a loud horn. That's what show-offs do in the synagogues and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward.
3When you give to the poor, don't let anyone know about it.#6.3 don't let anyone know about it: The Greek text has, “Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” 4Then your gift will be given in secret. Your Father knows what is done in secret and will reward you.
Prayer
(Luke 11.2-4)
5 #
Lk 18.10-14. When you pray, don't be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.
6When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.
7 #
Si 7.14. When you pray, don't talk on and on as people do who don't know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. 8Don't be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask.
9You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
your name.
10Come and set up
your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
will obey you,
as you are obeyed
in heaven.
11Give us our food for today.#6.11 our food for today: Or “the food that we need” or “our food for the coming day.”
12Forgive us for doing wrong,
as we forgive others.
13Keep us from being tempted#6.13 tempted: Or “tested.”
and protect us from evil.#6.13 evil: Or “the evil one,” that is, the devil. Some manuscripts add, “The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.”
14 #
Mk 11.25,26. #Si 28.1-5. If you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, your Father in heaven will forgive you. 15But if you don't forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Worshiping God by Going without Eating
16When you go without eating,#6.16 without eating: See the note at 4.2. don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward. 17#Jdt 10.3. Instead, comb your hair and wash your face. 18Then others won't know you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
(Luke 12.33,34)
19 #
Jas 5.2,3. Don't store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. 20#Si 29.11. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21Your heart will always be where your treasure is.
Light
(Luke 11.34-36)
22Your eyes are a window for your body. When they are good, you have all the light you need. 23But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark.
Money
(Luke 16.13)
24You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Worry
(Luke 12.22-31)
25I tell you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food or clothing? 26Look at the birds in the sky! They don't plant or harvest. They don't even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth much more than birds?
27Can worry make you live longer?#6.27 live longer: Or “grow taller.” 28Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. 29#1 K 10.4-7; 2 Ch 9.3-6. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth#6.29 Solomon with all his wealth: The Jewish people thought that Solomon was the richest person who had ever lived. wasn't as well clothed as one of them. 30God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. God will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?
31Don't worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?” 32Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all of these. 33But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
34Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.