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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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Matthew 6
6
1“Make sure not to do your good deeds in front of people, just so they can be seen. Otherwise you won't have any reward from your Father in heaven. 2When you give to the poor, don't be like the hypocrites#6:2. A word taken from the Greek which literally means “play-acting.” who blow their own trumpets to announce what they're doing in the synagogues and in the streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth: they already have their reward. 3When you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. 4That way what you give will be in secret, and your Father who sees what happens in secret will reward you.
5When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people can see them. I promise you, they already have their reward. 6But you, when you pray, go indoors and close the door, and pray to your Father in private, and your Father who sees what happens in private will reward you. 7When you pray, don't babble on meaninglessly like the foreigners do, who think they will be heard because of all the words they repeat. 8Don't be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him. 9So pray like this:
Our heavenly Father, may your name be honored. 10May your kingdom come! May your will be carried out in earth as it is in heaven. 11Please give to us today the food we need. 12Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13Please don't let us give in to temptation,#6:13. Or “Please don't allow us to enter temptation.” The sense here is permissive rather than causative. In other words the prayer is for God not to allow temptation to overcome us. He is not the one bringing the temptation. and save us from the evil one.
14For if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don't forgive those who sin against you, then your heavenly Father won't forgive your sins.
16When you fast, don't be like the hypocrites who put on sad faces and make themselves look terrible so that everyone can see they're fasting. I tell you the truth, they already have their reward. 17Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart, 18so that people won't see you're fasting, and your unseen Father who sees what happens in private will reward you.
19Don't pile up wealth here on earth where moths and rust ruin it, and where thieves break in and steal it. 20Instead, you should store up your wealth in heaven, where moths and rust don't ruin it, and where thieves don't break in and steal it. 21For what you value the most shows who you really are.
22The eye is like a lamp that lights the body. So if your eye is healthy,#6:22. Or “good, innocent.” then your whole body will have light. 23But if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the ‘light’ you have is actually darkness, how dark is that! 24No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Money.#6:24. Literally, “Mammon,” a transliteration from the Aramaic word for the Syrian god of money and wealth.
25That's why I'm telling you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about what to eat, or what to drink, or what clothes to put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds#6:26. Literally, “birds of the air,” referring to wild birds rather than domesticated birds.—they don't sow or reap or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they are? 27Who of you by worrying can add a minute to your life? 28And why are you worried about clothes? Look at the beautiful flowers in the field. See how they grow: they don't work hard, they don't spin thread. 29But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these flowers. 30So if God decorates the fields like this, grass which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, won't he do much more for you, you people who trust so little? 31So don't worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32These are all the things that the heathen chase after, but your heavenly Father knows everything you need. 33Seek his kingdom first, and his way of living right, and everything will be given to you. 34So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There's already enough evil in every day.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com