1 Alms. 5 Prayer. 14 Forgiving our brother. 16 Fasting. 19 Our treasure. 20 We must succor the poor. 24 God and riches. 25 Careful seeking for meat and drink, and apparel, forbidden. 33 The kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Take heed that ye give not your [a]alms before men to be seen of them, or else ye shall have no [b]reward of your Father which is in heaven.

(A)Therefore when thou givest thine alms, thou shalt not make a trumpet to be blown before thee, as the [c]hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, to be praised of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth,

That thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father that seeth in secret, he will reward thee openly.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:1 Ambition maketh alms vain.
  2. Matthew 6:1 This word, Reward, is always taken in the Scriptures for a free recompense, and therefore the schoolmen do fondly set it to be answerable to a deserving, which they call merit.
  3. Matthew 6:2 Counterfeits, for Hypocrites were players that played a part in a play.

Giving to the Needy

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(B)

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