Matthew 6
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
But Do Not Merely Put On a Show of Righteousness For Others
6 “But take-heed not to do your righteousness[a] in-front-of people so-as to be seen[b] by them. Otherwise indeed, you do not have a reward with your Father in the heavens.
Don’t Give Money To Glorify Yourself. Give Without Thinking of Yourself At All
2 “So whenever you do almsgiving[c], do not trumpet it before you as-indeed the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the lanes[d] so that they may be glorified by people. Truly I say to you, they are receiving their reward[e] in full. 3 But while you are doing almsgiving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be in secret. And your Father, the One seeing in secret, will reward you.
Don’t Pray To Impress Others. Always Pray As If Alone With Your Heavenly Father
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. Because standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the wide-roads, they love to pray so that they may make-an-appearance[f] to people. Truly I say to you, they are receiving their reward in full. 6 But whenever you pray, enter into your inner-room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father, the One in secret. And your Father, the One seeing in secret, will reward you.
Don’t Babble On In Prayer. Pray As a Child of God, Aligned With His Purposes
7 “And while praying, do not babble as-indeed the Gentiles do. For they are thinking that they will be heard by means of their many-words[g]. 8 So do not be like them, for your Father knows of the things which you have a need before you ask Him. 9 Therefore, you be praying as follows, ‘Our Father in the heavens: 10 let[h] Your name be treated-as-holy. Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done[i]— as in heaven, also on earth. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgave[j] our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into a temptation[k], but deliver[l] us from the evil one[m]’. 14 For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Don’t Display Yourself As Fasting. Fast In Secret
16 “And whenever you fast, do not be like the sad-faced hypocrites. For they disfigure[n] their faces so that they may appear to people as ones fasting. Truly I say to you, they are receiving their reward in full. 17 But while you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that you may not appear to people as one fasting, but to your Father, the One in secret. And your Father, the One seeing in secret, will reward you.
Build Your Storehouse of Treasure In Heaven, Not On Earth
19 “Do not be treasuring-up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and eating[o] destroy, and where thieves break-in and steal. 20 But be treasuring up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor eating destroys, and where thieves do not break in nor steal.
Your Heart Will Be Where Your Treasure Is. You Cannot Serve God And Money
21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart also will be. 22 The lamp[p] of the body is the eye. Therefore if your eye is single[q], your whole body will be full-of-light[r]. 23 But if your eye is bad[s], your whole body will be full-of-darkness. If then the light in you is darkness[t], how great is the darkness! 24 No one can be serving[u] two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted-to one and disregard[v] the other. You cannot be serving God and wealth[w].
Don’t Be Anxious About Your Earthly Life. Seek God’s Kingdom And Righteousness
25 “For this reason I say to you— do not be anxious[x] for your life as to what you may eat or what you may drink, nor for your body as to what you may put-on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the heaven— that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns. And your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? 27 And which of you while being anxious is able to add one cubit[y] upon his life-span? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe-closely the lilies of the field, how they grow— they do not labor nor spin. 29 But I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God dresses in this manner the grass of the field existing today and being thrown into an oven tomorrow, will He not by much more care for you— ones of-little-faith? 31 Therefore, do not be anxious[z], saying, ‘What may we eat?’ or ‘What may we drink?’ or ‘What may we put-on?’ 32 For the Gentiles are seeking-after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is the trouble[aa] of it.
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:1 That is, your righteous deeds.
- Matthew 6:1 That is, for the purpose of being seen.
- Matthew 6:2 That is, give to the poor as charity.
- Matthew 6:2 Or, narrow streets, alleys.
- Matthew 6:2 Their reward is glory from people.
- Matthew 6:5 Or, are-visible.
- Matthew 6:7 Or, wordiness, much talking.
- Matthew 6:10 That is, make it reality that your name is treated as holy (it does not mean ‘let’ in the sense of ‘allow’). All six requests are in the form of a command (as usual), but the grammar changes with the fourth request.
- Matthew 6:10 Or, take place, come about, happen, become reality.
- Matthew 6:12 Forgiveness is assumed to be a characteristic part of a believer’s life.
- Matthew 6:13 That is, a situation in which we will be tempted by the evil one. Or, testing, trial. Compare Lk 22:40.
- Matthew 6:13 Or, rescue, save.
- Matthew 6:13 Or, from evil. Some manuscripts add ‘Because Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen’.
- Matthew 6:16 These people blackened their faces with ashes so they would be seen by others as ones fasting.
- Matthew 6:19 That is, the consumption of all kinds of treasures by all kinds of natural processes, of which moth-eating is a specific example. Or, eating by rust, corroding (a meaning not found elsewhere in Greek), if Jesus specifically has in view here a different category of treasure than that eaten by moths, metal treasures.
- Matthew 6:22 That is, the source of light.
- Matthew 6:22 Or, sincere, simple. That is, single-focused on God; or, spiritually healthy.
- Matthew 6:22 Or, illuminated.
- Matthew 6:23 That is, double-focused on wealth and God; or, sick, spiritually diseased.
- Matthew 6:23 That is, if the spiritual ‘light’ your eye allows in is in fact darkness.
- Matthew 6:24 That is, be serving as slave to.
- Matthew 6:24 The slave will internally hate or love one master over the other, or he will express this in action, devoting himself to serving one while disregarding the other.
- Matthew 6:24 Or, property, money.
- Matthew 6:25 Or, be worried about, be concerned about. The grammar implies, stop being anxious, or, do not be in the habit of being anxious.
- Matthew 6:27 That is, add 18 inches, one step, to his life’s path.
- Matthew 6:31 The grammar implies, do not become anxious, as also in v 34, addressing the issue as a whole.
- Matthew 6:34 Or, misfortune, evil, badness.
马太福音 6
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
论周济穷人
6 “你们要小心，行善的时候不可张扬，故意叫人看见，否则就不能得你们天父的赏赐了。
2 “因此，周济穷人的时候，不要大吹大擂，像那些伪君子在会堂和街市上所行的一样，以博取人们的赞赏。我实在告诉你们，他们得到的赏赐仅此而已。 3 你们周济穷人的时候，右手所做的别叫左手知道， 4 要不声不响地去做。这样，鉴察隐秘事的天父必赏赐你们。
论祷告
5 “你们祷告时，不要像伪君子那样。他们喜欢站在会堂里和十字路口上公开祷告，故意让人看见。我实在告诉你们，他们得到的赏赐不过是人的赞赏。 6 你们祷告的时候，要进入内室，关上门，向你们肉眼看不见的父祈祷，鉴察隐秘事的父必赏赐你们。
7 “你们祷告时不可像外族人那样喋喋不休，他们以为长篇大论，就必蒙上帝垂听。 8 不可像他们那样，因为在你们祷告以前，你们的父已经知道你们的需要了。
9 “你们应当这样祷告，
“‘我们天上的父，
愿人们都尊崇你的圣名，
10 愿你的国度降临，
愿你的旨意在地上成就，就像在天上成就一样。
11 求你今天赐给我们日用的饮食。
12 饶恕我们的罪，
就像我们饶恕了得罪我们的人。
13 不要让我们遇见诱惑，
救我们脱离那恶者。
因为国度、权柄、荣耀都是你的，直到永远。阿们！’
14 “如果你们饶恕别人的过犯，你们的天父也必饶恕你们的过犯。 15 如果你们不饶恕别人的过犯，你们的天父也不会饶恕你们的过犯。
论禁食
16 “你们禁食的时候，不要像伪君子那样愁眉苦脸，因为他们故意蓬头垢面，好让别人知道他们在禁食。我实在告诉你们，他们得到的赏赐不过是人的赞赏。 17 你禁食的时候要梳头洗脸， 18 不叫人们看出你在禁食，只让你肉眼看不见的父知道，鉴察隐秘事的父必赏赐你。
论积财
19 “不要为自己在世上积攒财宝，世上有虫子咬，会生锈，又有贼闯进来偷。 20 你们要把财宝积攒在天上，天上没有虫子咬，不会生锈，也没有贼闯进来偷。 21 要知道，你的财宝在哪里，你的心也在哪里。
22 “眼睛是身上的灯。如果你的眼睛明亮，全身都光明； 23 要是你的眼睛昏花[a]，全身就黑暗。如果你里面的光黑暗了，那黑暗是多么大啊！
24 “一个人不能服侍两位主人，因为他不是恨这位、爱那位，就是重这位、轻那位。你们不能又事奉上帝，又崇拜金钱。
不要忧虑衣食
25 “所以我告诉你们，不要为生活忧虑，如吃什么、喝什么，也不要为身体忧虑，如穿什么。难道生命不比饮食重要吗？身体不比穿着重要吗？
26 “你们看天上的飞鸟，它们不种，不收，也不在仓里积存粮食，你们的天父尚且养活它们，难道你们还不如飞鸟贵重吗？ 27 你们谁能用忧虑使自己多活片刻呢？
28 “何必为穿着忧虑呢？你们看看野地的百合花是如何生长的，它们既不劳苦，也不纺织。 29 但我告诉你们，就连所罗门王最显赫时的穿戴还不如一朵百合花！ 30 你们的信心太小了！野地里的草今天还在，明天就丢在炉中化为灰烬，上帝还这样装扮它们，何况你们呢？ 31 所以，你们不要忧虑‘吃什么？喝什么？穿什么？’ 32 因为这些都是外族人的追求，你们的天父知道你们的需要。
33 “你们要先寻求上帝的国和祂的义，这一切都会赐给你们。 34 所以，不要为明天忧虑，因为明天自有明天的忧虑，一天的难处一天担就够了。
Footnotes
- 6:23 “昏花”或作“邪恶”。
Matthew 6
Complete Jewish Bible
6 “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. 2 So, 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! 3 But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then 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! 6 But 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. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 You, therefore, pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need today.
12 Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
13 And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
[a]For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
Amen.’
14 For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but 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! 17 But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself, 18 so 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. 20 Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. 21 For 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; 23 but 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! 24 No 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? 26 Look 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? 27 Can 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, 29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30 If 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?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already!
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:13 The latter half of verse 13 is not found in the oldest manuscripts.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.