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Fasting

16 (A)Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [a]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. (B)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, (C)anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your (D)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:16 Discolor their faces with makeup; lit distort their faces

The Sermon on the Mount: How to Fast

16 “Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! 17 But when[a] you are fasting, put olive oil on your head[b] and wash your face 18 so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“fasting”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Matthew 6:17 Literally “anoint your head”