Mat 6-7 | ESV | STEP | Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them , for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven .

1 “Beware of ^apracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^bto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ^c“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^dbe praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^ereceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. ^fAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^gto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^hTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, ⁱgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^jAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^kthe Gentiles do, for ^lthey think that they will be heard ^mfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, ⁿfor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 ^oPray then like this:

^p“Our Father in heaven,
^qhallowed be ^ryour name. ^{▼▼Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence}
10 ^tYour kingdom come,
^uyour will be done, ^{▼▼Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done}
^won earth as it is in heaven.
11 ^xGive us ^ythis day our daily bread, ^{▼▼Or our bread for tomorrow}
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And ^aalead us not into temptation,
but ^abdeliver us from ^acevil. ^{▼▼Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen}
14 ^aeFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 ^afbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And ^agwhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^ahTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, ^aianoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^ajAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^ak“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^almoth and rust ^{▼▼Or worm; also verse 20} destroy and where thieves ^anbreak in and steal, 20 ^aobut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ^ap“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 ^aqbut if ^aryour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ^as“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 ^atmoney. ^{▼▼Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions}

Do Not Be Anxious

25 ^av“Therefore I tell you, ^awdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 ^axLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^ayAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^azspan of life? ^{▼▼Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, ^bbeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^bcO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For ^bdthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^beyour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But ^bfseek first ^bgthe kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^bhand all these things will be added to you.

34 ^bi“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 7

Judging Others

1 ^bj“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 ^bkFor with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and ^blwith the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but ^bmdo not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 ^bn“Do not give ^bodogs what is holy, and do not throw your ^bppearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

7 ^bq“Ask, ^brand it will be given to you; ^bsseek, and you will find; ^btknock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^bubread, will give him ^bva stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, ^bwwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^bxyour Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

12 “So ^bywhatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is ^bzthe Law and the Prophets.

13 ^ca“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy ^{▼▼Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy} that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and ^ccthe way is hard that leads to life, and ^cdthose who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 ^ce“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ^cfravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them ^cgby their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, ^chevery healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 ^ciEvery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them ^cjby their fruits.

I Never Knew You

21 ^ck“Not everyone who ^clsays to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will ^cmenter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ^cndoes the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 ^coOn that day ^cpmany will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^cqprophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^crin your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ^csAnd then will I declare to them, ‘I ^ctnever knew you; ^cudepart from me, ^cvyou workers of lawlessness.’

Build Your House on the Rock

24 ^cw“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like ^cxa wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like ^cya foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, ^czthe crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 ^dafor he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.