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.
Matthew 6
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, then you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They do that in the synagogues and on the streets. They want other people to honor them. I tell you the truth. Those hypocrites already have their full reward. 3 So when you give to the poor, give very secretly. Don’t let anyone know what you are doing. 4 Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them pray. I tell you the truth. They already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing. They think that God will hear them because of the many things they say. 8 Don’t be like them. Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. 9 So when you pray, you should pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
10 We pray that your kingdom will come.
We pray that what you want will be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need for each day.
12 Forgive the sins we have done,
just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us.
13 And do not cause us to be tested;
but save us from the Evil One.’
[The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.][a]
14 Yes, if you forgive others for the things they do wrong, then your Father in heaven will also forgive you for the things you do wrong. 15 But if you don’t forgive the wrongs of others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrong things you do.
Jesus Teaches About Worship
16 “When you give up eating,[b] don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look strange to show people that they are giving up eating. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. 17 So when you give up eating, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then people will not know that you are giving up eating. But your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
God Is More Important Than Money
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy treasures here on earth. And thieves can break into your house and steal the things you have. 20 So store your treasure in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by moths or rust. And thieves cannot break in and steal that treasure. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22 “The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, then your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are evil, then your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness.
24 “No one can be a slave to two masters. He will hate one master and love the other. Or he will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. So you cannot serve God and money at the same time.
Don’t Worry
25 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food you need to live. And don’t worry about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more important than food. And the body is more important than clothes. 26 Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds the birds. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the flowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 God clothes the grass in the field like that. The grass is living today, but tomorrow it is thrown into the fire to be burned. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! 31 Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 All the people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things. And your Father in heaven knows that you need them. 33 The thing you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.
馬太福音 6
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
論賙濟窮人
6 「你們要小心，行善的時候不可張揚，故意叫人看見，否則就不能得你們天父的賞賜了。
2 「因此，賙濟窮人的時候，不要大吹大擂，像那些偽君子在會堂和街市上所行的一樣，以博取人們的讚賞。我實在告訴你們，他們得到的賞賜僅此而已。 3 你們賙濟窮人的時候，右手所做的別叫左手知道， 4 要不聲不響地去做。這樣，鑒察隱祕事的天父必賞賜你們。
論禱告
5 「你們禱告時，不要像偽君子那樣。他們喜歡站在會堂裡和十字路口上公開禱告，故意讓人看見。我實在告訴你們，他們得到的賞賜不過是人的讚賞。 6 你們禱告的時候，要進入內室，關上門，向你們肉眼看不見的父祈禱，鑒察隱祕事的父必賞賜你們。
7 「你們禱告時不可像外族人那樣喋喋不休，他們以為長篇大論，就必蒙上帝垂聽。 8 不可像他們那樣，因為在你們禱告以前，你們的父已經知道你們的需要了。
9 「你們應當這樣禱告，
『我們天上的父，
願人們都尊崇你的聖名，
10 願你的國度降臨，
願你的旨意在地上成就，就像在天上成就一樣。
11 求你今天賜給我們日用的飲食。
12 饒恕我們的罪，
就像我們饒恕了得罪我們的人。
13 不要讓我們遇見誘惑，
救我們脫離那惡者。
因為國度、權柄、榮耀都是你的，直到永遠。阿們！』
14 「如果你們饒恕別人的過犯，你們的天父也必饒恕你們的過犯。 15 如果你們不饒恕別人的過犯，你們的天父也不會饒恕你們的過犯。
論禁食
16 「你們禁食的時候，不要像偽君子那樣愁眉苦臉，因為他們故意蓬頭垢面，好讓別人知道他們在禁食。我實在告訴你們，他們得到的賞賜不過是人的讚賞。 17 你禁食的時候要梳頭洗臉， 18 不叫人們看出你在禁食，只讓你肉眼看不見的父知道，鑒察隱祕事的父必賞賜你。
論積財
19 「不要為自己在世上積攢財寶，世上有蟲子咬，會生銹，又有賊闖進來偷。 20 你們要把財寶積攢在天上，天上沒有蟲子咬，不會生銹，也沒有賊闖進來偷。 21 要知道，你的財寶在哪裡，你的心也在哪裡。
22 「眼睛是身上的燈。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。如果你裡面的光黑暗了，那黑暗是多麼大啊！
24 「一個人不能服侍兩位主人，因為他不是恨這位、愛那位，就是重這位、輕那位。你們不能又事奉上帝，又崇拜金錢。
不要憂慮衣食
25 「所以我告訴你們，不要為生活憂慮，如吃什麼、喝什麼，也不要為身體憂慮，如穿什麼。難道生命不比飲食重要嗎？身體不比穿著重要嗎？
26 「你們看天上的飛鳥，牠們不種，不收，也不在倉裡積存糧食，你們的天父尚且養活牠們，難道你們還不如飛鳥貴重嗎？ 27 你們誰能用憂慮使自己多活片刻呢？
28 「何必為穿著憂慮呢？你們看看野地的百合花是如何生長的，它們既不勞苦，也不紡織。 29 但我告訴你們，就連所羅門王最顯赫時的穿戴還不如一朵百合花！ 30 你們的信心太小了！野地裡的草今天還在，明天就丟在爐中化為灰燼，上帝還這樣裝扮它們，何況你們呢？ 31 所以，你們不要憂慮『吃什麼？喝什麼？穿什麼？』 32 因為這些都是外族人的追求，你們的天父知道你們的需要。
33 「你們要先尋求上帝的國和祂的義，這一切都會賜給你們。 34 所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮，一天的難處一天擔就夠了。
Footnotes
- 6·23 「昏花」或作「邪惡」。
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
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
