Matthew 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Concerning Almsgiving
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.(A)
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.(B) 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a](C)
Concerning Prayer
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.(D) 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[b](E)
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.(F) 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be revered as holy.
10 May your kingdom come.
May your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.(G)
11 Give us today our daily bread.[c](H)
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.(I)
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial,[d]
but rescue us from the evil one.[e](J)
14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,(K) 15 but if you do not forgive others,[f] neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.(L)
Concerning Fasting
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[g]
Concerning Treasures
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[h] consume and where thieves break in and steal,(M) 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[i] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.(N) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Eye
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,(O) 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Serving Two Masters
24 “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.[j](P)
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[k] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?(Q) 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?(R) 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?[l] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God[m] and his[n] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(S)
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Footnotes
- 6.4 Other ancient authorities add openly
- 6.6 Other ancient authorities add openly
- 6.11 Or our bread for tomorrow
- 6.13 Or us into testing
- 6.13 Or from evil. Other ancient authorities add, in some form, For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
- 6.15 Other ancient authorities add their trespasses
- 6.18 Other ancient authorities add openly
- 6.19 Gk eating
- 6.20 Gk eating
- 6.24 Gk mammon
- 6.25 Other ancient authorities lack or what you will drink
- 6.27 Or add one cubit to your height
- 6.33 Other ancient authorities lack of God
- 6.33 Or its
Matthew 6
International Standard Version
Teaching about Giving to the Poor
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. I tell all of you[a] with certainty, they have their full reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be done in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”[b]
Teaching about Prayer(A)
5 “And whenever you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell all of you[c] with certainty, they have their full reward! 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees from the hidden place will reward you.[d]
7 “When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things[e] like the unbelievers[f] do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Therefore, this is how you should pray:
‘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 today our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our sins,[g]
as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.[h]
13 And never bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’[i]
14 Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive people their offenses,[j] your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
Teaching about Fasting
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites, because they put on sad faces to show others they are fasting. I tell all of you[k] with certainty, they have their full reward! 17 But when you fast, put oil on[l] your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by others but by your Father who is in the hidden place. And your Father who watches from the hidden place will reward you.”[m]
Teaching about Treasures(B)
19 “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But keep on storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, 21 because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Lamp of the Body(C)
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light within you has turned into darkness, how great is that darkness!”
God and Riches(D)
24 “No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!”[n]
Stop Worrying(E)
25 “That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat or what you will drink[o]—or about your body—what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn’t it, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren’t you? 27 Can any of you add a single hour to the length of your life[p] by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies in the field and how they grow. They don’t work or spin yarn, 29 but I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 Now if that is the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, won’t he clothe you much better—you who have little faith?
31 “So don’t ever worry by saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 because it is the unbelievers[q] who are eager for all those things. Surely your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them! 33 But first be concerned about God’s kingdom and his righteousness,[r] and all of these things will be provided for you as well. 34 So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:2 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 6:4 Other mss. read reward you openly
- Matthew 6:5 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 6:6 Other mss. read reward you openly
- Matthew 6:7 Or words
- Matthew 6:7 Lit. gentiles; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews
- Matthew 6:12 Or debts
- Matthew 6:12 Or forgiven our debtors
- Matthew 6:13 Other mss. read evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
- Matthew 6:15 Other mss. lack their offenses
- Matthew 6:16 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 6:17 Or anoint
- Matthew 6:18 Other mss. read reward you openly
- Matthew 6:24 Lit. mammon; i.e. wealth
- Matthew 6:25 Other mss. lack or what you will drink
- Matthew 6:27 Or add one cubit to your height
- Matthew 6:32 Lit. gentiles; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews
- Matthew 6:33 Other mss. read his kingdom and righteousness
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