Matthew 6

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1Beware of practicing your righteousness before men ato be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2So when you
Or give alms
give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they cmay be honored by men. dTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3“But when you
Or give alms
give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your
Or alms
giving will be in secret; and gyour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to hstand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners
Lit to be apparent to men
,
jso that they may be seen by men. kTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6But you, when you pray, lgo into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and myour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their nmany words. 8So do not be like them; for oyour Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 pPray, then, in this way: Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10qYour kingdom come.
rYour will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11sGive us this day
Or our bread for tomorrow
our daily bread.

12‘And uforgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation, but vdeliver us from
Or the evil one
,
xevil.
This clause not found in early mss
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
]

14 zFor if you forgive
Gr anthropoi
others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15“But abif you do not forgive
Gr anthropoi
others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 adWhenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they
Lit distort their faces, i.e. discolor their faces with makeup
neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. afTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
17But you, when you fast, aganoint your head and wash your face 18so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your ahFather who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 aiDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves ajtreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for akwhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 alThe eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is
Or healthy; or sincere
clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23But if anyour eye is
Or evil
bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 apNo one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
Gr mamonas, for Aram mamon (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship
,
arwealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25 asFor this reason I say to you,
Or stop being worried
do not be auworried about your
Lit soul
life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 awLook at the birds of the
Lit heaven
air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27And who of you by being ayworried can azadd a single
Lit cubit (approx 18 in.)
hour to his
Or height
life?
28And why are you bcworried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even bdSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the begrass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? bfYou of little faith! 31“Do not bgworry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ orWhat will we drink?’ orWhat will we wear for clothing?’ 32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for bhyour heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But
Or continually seek
seek first
Or the kingdom
His kingdom and His righteousness, and bkall these things will be
Or provided
added to you.

34So do not bmworry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will
Lit worry about itself
care for itself.
Lit Sufficient for the day is its evils
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Copyright information for NASB1995