Matthew 6
6
How to Give
1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness # Other mss read charitable giving in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from 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. I assure you: They’ve got 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. # 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. I assure you: They’ve got 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. # Other mss add openly # 2Kg 4:33; Is 26:20; Mt 6:18 7When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, # Or Gentiles, or nations, or heathen, or pagans 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 Model 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
10Your 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
11Give us today our daily bread. # Or our necessary bread, or our bread for tomorrow
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. # Pr 30:8; Rm 4:4; Gl 5:3
13And do not bring us into # 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. # Or from evil # Mt 5:37; Jn 17:15; 2Th 3:3; 2Tm 4:18
For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen. # Other mss omit bracketed text
14“For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, # Or trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. # Mk 11:25; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13 15But if you don’t forgive people, # Other mss add their wrongdoing your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing. # Or trespasses
How to Fast
16“Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive # Or unrecognizable, or disfigured # Is 58:5; Mt 18:35; Jms 2:13 so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got 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 you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. # Other mss add openly
God and Possessions
19“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures # Or valuables on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. # Pr 23:4; Heb 13:5 20But collect 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 good, 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 be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money. # Lk 16:13; Gl 1:10; Jms 4:4
The Cure for Anxiety
25“This is why 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 26Look at 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 a single cubit to his height # Or add one moment to his life-span by worrying? 28And why do you worry about clothes? Learn 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 idolaters # Or Gentiles, or nations, or heathen, or pagans eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first the kingdom of God # 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: HCSB
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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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