“And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (A)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners (B)so that they [a]will be seen by people. (C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you pray, (D)go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and (E)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

“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 (F)many words. So do not be like them; for (G)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The Lord’s Prayer

(H)Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
[b]Hallowed be Your name.
10 [c](I)Your kingdom come.
(J)Your will be done,
[d]On earth as it is in heaven.
11 (K)Give us this day [e]our daily bread.
12 And (L)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but (M)deliver us from [f](N)evil.[g]

14 (O)For if you forgive other people for their [h]offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (P)if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your [i]offenses.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:5 Lit may show themselves to
  2. Matthew 6:9 I.e., treated as sacred or holy
  3. Matthew 6:10 Or May Your...come
  4. Matthew 6:10 Lit as in heaven, also on earth
  5. Matthew 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow
  6. Matthew 6:13 Or the evil one
  7. Matthew 6:13 Late mss add For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
  8. Matthew 6:14 Or wrongdoings
  9. Matthew 6:15 Or wrongdoings

Teaching about Prayer(A)

“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[a] with certainty, they have their full reward! 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.[b]

“When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things[c] like the unbelievers[d] do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 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,[e]
    as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.[f]
13 And never bring us into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’[g]

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,[h] your Father will not forgive your offenses.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:5 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
  2. Matthew 6:6 Other mss. read reward you openly
  3. Matthew 6:7 Or words
  4. Matthew 6:7 Lit. gentiles; i.e. unbelieving non-Jews
  5. Matthew 6:12 Or debts
  6. Matthew 6:12 Or forgiven our debtors
  7. Matthew 6:13 Other mss. read evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
  8. Matthew 6:15 Other mss. lack their offenses