Matthew 6
Expanded Bible
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “·Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them [or Be careful not to do/parade your righteous deeds] in front of people to be ·seen [noticed] by them. If you do that, you will ·have no [lose the] reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “[L So] When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets [C either figuratively (“blow their own horn”) or literally, since trumpets sometimes announced public events] in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and ·honor [admire] them. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward [C praise from people, rather than reward from God]. 3 So when you give to the poor, don’t let ·anyone know what you are [L your left hand know what your right hand is] doing. 4 Your giving should be done in ·secret [private]. Your Father can see what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer(A)
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will ·see [notice] them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your [private; inner] room and close the door and pray to your Father ·who cannot be seen [or who is in that secret place; or secretly; in private]. Your Father can see what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, don’t be like ·those people who don’t know God [the pagans/Gentiles/heathen]. They ·continue saying things that mean nothing [babble; repeat empty phrases], thinking ·that God will hear them [L they will be heard; C the passive verb implies God as subject] because of their many words. 8 Don’t be like them, because 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,
·may your name always be kept holy [T Hallowed be your name].
10 May your kingdom come
·and what you want [Your will] be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us ·the food we need for each day [T today our daily bread].
12 Forgive us for our ·sins [L debts],
just as we have forgiven ·those who sinned against us [L our debtors; C sin is pictured as a debt owed].
13 And ·do not cause us to be tempted [T lead us not into temptation; or do not put us to the test],
but ·save [rescue; deliver] us from ·the Evil One [or evil].’
|The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.|[a]
14 ·Yes, [For] if you forgive others for their ·sins [transgressions; failings; trespasses], your Father in heaven will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your ·sins [transgressions; failings; trespasses].
Jesus Teaches About Worship
16 “When you fast [C giving up eating for spiritual purposes], don’t put on a ·sad [gloomy; somber] face like the hypocrites. They make their faces ·look sad [disheveled; disfigured; unattractive] to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward [v. 2]. 17 So when you fast [v. 16], ·comb your hair [L put oil on/anoint your head; C typical first century grooming] and wash your face. 18 Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, ·whom you cannot see [who is hidden/in secret], will see you. Your Father sees what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.
God Is More Important than Money(B)
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. 20 But store ·your [for yourselves] treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22 “The eye is ·a light [L the lamp] for the body. If your eyes are ·good [healthy; clear], your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are ·evil [unhealthy; bad], your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the ·only light you have [or light you think you have; L light in you] is really darkness, then ·you have the worst darkness [how great that darkness is!].
24 “No one can serve two ·masters [lords]. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will ·follow [be devoted/loyal to] one master and ·refuse to follow [despise] the other. You cannot serve both God and ·worldly riches [money; L mammon].
Don’t Worry(C)
25 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 26 ·Look at [Consider; Think of] the birds in the air. They don’t ·plant [sow] or ·harvest [reap] or ·store food in [gather into] barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And ·you know that you are [L aren’t you…?] worth much more than the birds. 27 ·You cannot [L Who of you can…?] add ·any time [or one step; L one cubit; C about eighteen inches] to your ·life [or height; C the Greek probably refers to time instead of stature] by worrying about it.
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? ·Look at [Consider; Think] how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t ·work [toil] or ·make clothes for themselves [L spin thread]. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon ·with his riches [L in all his glory] was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 ·God clothes [L If God clothes…?] the ·grass [wildflower] in the field, which is ·alive [here] today but tomorrow is thrown into the ·fire [L furnace; oven]. ·So you can be even more sure that God will [Will he not much more…?] clothe you. ·Don’t have so little faith [or How little faith you have; T You of little faith]! 31 Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 The ·people who don’t know God [Gentiles; pagans; unbelievers] ·keep trying to get [eagerly seek; run after] these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. 33 ·Seek first [Be concerned above all else with] God’s kingdom and ·what God wants [L his righteousness]. Then all ·your other needs will be met as well [L these things will be given to you]. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will ·have its own worries [or worry about/take care of itself]. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Footnotes
- Matthew 6:13 The . . . Amen. Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
Matthew 6
J.B. Phillips New Testament
The new life is not a matter of outward show
6 “Beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to catch men’s eyes or you will miss the reward of your Heavenly Father.
2-4 “So, when you do good to other people, don’t hire a trumpeter to go in front of you—like those play-actors in the synagogues and streets who make sure that men admire them. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get! No, when you give to charity, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be secret. Your Father who knows all secrets will reward you.
5-13 “And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street-corners so that people may see them at it. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get. But when you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you. And when you pray don’t rattle off long prayers like the pagans who think they will be heard because they use so many words. Don’t be like them. After all, God, who is your Father, knows your needs before you ask him. Pray then like this—‘Our Heavenly Father, may your name be honoured; May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day the bread we need, Forgive us what we owe to you, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. Keep us clear of temptation, and save us from evil’.”
Forgiveness of fellow-man is essential
14-15 “For if you forgive other people their failures, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you will not forgive other people, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your failures.”
16-18 “Then, when you fast, don’t look like those miserable play-actors! For they deliberately disfigure their faces so that people may see that they are fasting. Believe me, they have had all their reward. No, when you fast, brush your hair and wash your face so that nobody knows that you are fasting—let it be a secret between you and your Father. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you.
Put your trust in God alone
19-21 “Don’t pile up treasures on earth, where moth and rust can spoil them and thieves can break in and steal. But keep your treasure in Heaven where there is neither moth nor rust to spoil it and nobody can break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!”
22-23 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If all the light you have is darkness, it is dark indeed!”
24 “No one can be loyal to two masters. He is bound to hate one and love the other, or support one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and the power of money at the same time.”
25-30 “That is why I say to you, don’t worry about living—wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much more valuable to him than they are? Can any of you, however much he worries, make himself an inch taller? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They neither work nor weave, but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these! Now if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are alive today and burnt in the stove tomorrow, is he not much more likely to clothe you, you ‘little-faiths’?
31-33 “So don’t worry and don’t keep saying, ‘What shall we eat, what shall we drink or what shall we wear?! That is what pagans are always looking for; your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart on the kingdom and his goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.
34 “Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”
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The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.