Matthew 6:16-24

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 "¹Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. ²Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17 "But you, when you fast, ³anoint 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 ⁴Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 "⁵Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20 "But store up for yourselves ⁶treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21 for ⁷where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "⁸The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

23 "But if ⁹your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 "¹⁰No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot * serve God and ¹¹wealth.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 58:5
• 2. Matthew 6:2
• 3. Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 12:20
• 4. Matthew 6:4, 6
• 5. Proverbs 23:4; Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:21, 33; Luke 18:22; 1 Timothy 6:9, 10; Hebrews 13:5; James 5:2
• 6. Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33; 1 Timothy 6:19
• 7. Luke 12:34
• 8. Matthew 6:22, 23: {Luke 11:34, 35}
• 9. Matthew 20:15; Mark 7:22
• 10. 1 Kings 18:21; Luke 16:13; Galatians 1:10; James 4:4
• 11. Luke 16:9, 11, 13

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "distort their faces", i.e. discolor their faces with makeup
• [b]. Or "healthy;" or "sincere"
• [c]. Or "evil"
• [d]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship