Matthew 6
Worldwide English (New Testament)
6 Do not do good things so that people will see you do them. If you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 `So when you give money to poor people, do not send men in front of you to blow trumpets or horns. Some people do this in the meeting houses and on the streets so that people will praise them. They are not true to themselves. I tell you the truth. They have their pay already.
3 But when you give money to poor people, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
4 In this way, what you give to the poor will be secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.
5 `When you talk to God, do not be like people who are not true to themselves. They like to stand and talk to God in the meeting houses and at the street corners, so that people will see them. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.
6 But when you talk to God, go into your room and shut the door. Then talk to your Father in secret. Your Father sees secret things and he will reward you.
7 `And when you talk to God, do not say words that mean nothing, over and over again. People who do not believe in God do that. They think their god will hear them because they say many words.
8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 So talk to your God like this: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 "May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 "Give us our food for today.
12 "Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, the way we forgive those who have done wrong things to us.
13 "Do not test us but help us, so that no one will make us do wrong. Deliver us from the evil one. The kingdom and power and praise belong to you for ever. Amen!"
14 `If you forgive others for the wrong things they have done, then your Father in heaven will forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you for the wrong things you have done.'
16 `When you are fasting [not eating food for a time], do not look sad. That is what people do who are not true to themselves. They look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face as you do at other times.
18 Then people will not see that you are fasting. But your Father sees secret things, and he will reward you.'
19 `Do not keep many things for yourself on earth. Insects and rust will spoil them. People will get in and steal them.
20 But keep things for yourself in heaven. Insects and rust will not spoil them there. People will not get in and steal them.
21 The place where you keep things is where your heart will be also.'
22 `The body gets its light through the eyes. If you have good eyes, all your body will have light.
23 But if your eyes are bad, all your body will be in darkness. If the light in you is dark, it will be very dark for you.'
24 `No man can work for two masters. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will obey one and despise the other. You cannot work for both God and money.
25 `So, I tell you this. Do not be troubled about what you will eat or drink to keep alive. Do not be troubled about what you will wear on your body. Life itself is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than clothes.
26 `Look at the birds that fly in the air. They do not plant or cut or keep any food. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Are you not worth more than birds?
27 Can any one of you live any longer by troubling yourself about these things?
28 And why are you troubled about clothes? See how the flowers grow in the fields. They do not work or make cloth.
29 I tell you, King Solomon was a great man. But he was not dressed as fine as one of these flowers.
30 God dresses the grass in the fields so it looks nice. It is in the field one day and the next day it is put on the fire. If God dresses the grass like that, he cares much more that you have clothes to wear. You do not believe in God very much!
31 `So then, do not keep asking, "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" and "What shall we wear?"
32 It is the people who do not believe in God who work for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need them all.
33 `Work first for God's kingdom and what he calls good. Then you will have all these things also.
34 `So do not be troubling yourself about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own trouble. Today's trouble is enough for today.'
Matthew 6
English Standard Version
Giving to the Needy
6 “Beware of (A)practicing your righteousness before other people in order (B)to 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 (D)be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have (E)received 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. (F)And 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 (G)to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. (H)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, (I)go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. (J)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as (K)the Gentiles do, for (L)they think that they will be heard (M)for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, (N)for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 (O)Pray then like this:
(P)“Our Father in heaven,
(Q)hallowed be (R)your name.[a]
10 (S)Your kingdom come,
(T)your will be done,[b]
(U)on earth as it is in heaven.
11 (V)Give us (W)this day our daily bread,[c]
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And (X)lead us not into temptation,
but (Y)deliver us from (Z)evil.[d]
14 (AA)For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 (AB)but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting
16 “And (AC)when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. (AD)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, (AE)anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. (AF)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 (AG)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where (AH)moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves (AI)break in and steal, 20 (AJ)but 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 (AK)“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 (AL)but if (AM)your 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 (AN)“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 (AO)money.[f]
Do Not Be Anxious
25 (AP)“Therefore I tell you, (AQ)do 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 (AR)Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (AS)Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his (AT)span of life?[g] 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, (AU)even 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, (AV)O 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 (AW)the Gentiles seek after all these things, and (AX)your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But (AY)seek first (AZ)the kingdom of God and his righteousness, (BA)and all these things will be added to you.
34 (BB)“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence
- Matthew 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done
- Matthew 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow
- Matthew 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
- Matthew 6:19 Or worm; also verse 20
- Matthew 6:24 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions
- Matthew 6:27 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
