Matthew 6
New American Standard Bible
Charitable Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, (A)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they (B)will be praised by people. (C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and (D)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (E)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners (F)so that they [c]will be seen by people. (G)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But as for you, when you pray, (H)go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and (I)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their (J)many words. 8 So do not be like them; for (K)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
The Lord’s Prayer
9 “(L)Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
[d]Hallowed be Your name.
10 [e](M)Your kingdom come.
(N)Your will be done,
[f]On earth as it is in heaven.
11 (O)Give us this day [g]our daily bread.
12 And (P)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but (Q)deliver us from [h](R)evil.[i]’
14 (S)For if you forgive other people for their [j]offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (T)if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your [k]offenses.
Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth
16 “Now (U)whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [l]distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. (V)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But as for you, when you fast, [m](W)anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your (X)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
19 “(Y)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (Z)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (AA)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “(AB)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is [n]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if (AC)your eye is [o]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “(AD)No 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 [p](AE)wealth.
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “(AF)For this reason I say to you, [q]do not be (AG)worried about your [r]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 (AH)Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by (AI)worrying can (AJ)add a single [s]day to his [t]life’s span? 28 And why are you (AK)worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even (AL)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the (AM)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? (AN)You of little faith! 31 Do not (AO)worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for (AP)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [u]seek first [v]His kingdom and His righteousness, and (AQ)all these things will be [w]provided to you.
34 “So do not (AR)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [x]worry about itself. [y]Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:2 Lit make a charitable gift
- Matthew 6:3 Lit make a charitable gift
- Matthew 6:5 Lit may show themselves to
- Matthew 6:9 I.e., treated as sacred or holy
- Matthew 6:10 Or May Your...come
- Matthew 6:10 Lit as in heaven, also on earth
- Matthew 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow
- Matthew 6:13 Or the evil one
- Matthew 6:13 Late mss add For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
- Matthew 6:14 Or wrongdoings
- Matthew 6:15 Or wrongdoings
- Matthew 6:16 I.e., leave unwashed, or discolor their faces with makeup
- Matthew 6:17 I.e., rub oil in the hair
- Matthew 6:22 Or healthy; or sincere
- Matthew 6:23 Or evil
- Matthew 6:24 Gr mamonas, for Aramaic mamon (mammon); i.e., wealth etc. personified as an object of worship
- Matthew 6:25 Or stop being worried
- Matthew 6:25 Lit soul
- Matthew 6:27 Lit cubit (about 18 in. or 45 cm)
- Matthew 6:27 Or height
- Matthew 6:33 Or continually seek
- Matthew 6:33 Or the kingdom
- Matthew 6:33 Or added
- Matthew 6:34 Or look after itself
- Matthew 6:34 Lit Sufficient for the day is its evil
Matthew 6
Common English Bible
Showy religion
6 “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing 4 so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
Showy prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
Proper prayer
7 “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. 9 Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
10 Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
11 Give us the bread we need for today.
12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
13 And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Showy fasting
16 “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. 17 When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. 18 Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Earthly and heavenly treasures
19 “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. 20 Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. 21 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Seeing and serving
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! 24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Worry about necessities
25 “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. 29 But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. 30 If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? 31 Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible