The Sermon on the Mount: Charitable Giving

“And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; otherwise[a] you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! But you, when you[b] practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

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Notas al pie

  1. Matthew 6:1 Literally “but if not”
  2. Matthew 6:3 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“practice”) which is understood as temporal

Showy religion

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

“Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

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