Matthew 6:1-24

Giving to the Needy

1 "Beware of ¹practicing your righteousness before other people in order ²to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ³"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ⁴be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ⁵received their reward.

3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 so that your giving may be in secret. ⁶And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord's Prayer

5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ⁷to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ⁸Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

6 But when you pray, ⁹go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ¹⁰And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ¹¹the Gentiles do, for ¹²they think that they will be heard ¹³for their many words.

8 Do not be like them, ¹⁴for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 ¹⁵Pray then like this: ¹⁶"Our Father in heaven, ¹⁷hallowed be ¹⁸your name.^[a]

10 ¹⁹Your kingdom come, ²⁰your will be done,^{[b] 21}on earth as it is in heaven.

11 ²²Give us ²³this day our daily bread,^[c]

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And ²⁴lead us not into temptation, but ²⁵deliver us from ²⁶evil.^[d]

14 ²⁷For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

15 ²⁸but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 "And ²⁹when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ³⁰Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

17 But when you fast, ³¹anoint your head and wash your face,

18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ³²And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ³³"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ³⁴moth and rust^[e] destroy and where thieves ³⁵break in and steal,

20 ³⁶but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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

22 ³⁷"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

23 ³⁸but if ³⁹your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ⁴⁰"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ⁴¹money.^[f]

Cross References

• 1. 1 John 2:29
• 2. ver. 16; Matthew 23:5
• 3. [1 Corinthians 13:3]
• 4. John 5:44
• 5. Luke 6:24
• 6. ver. 6, 18
• 7. Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11
• 8. ver. 2, 16
• 9. 2 Kings 4:33; Isaiah 26:20
• 10. ver. 4, 18
• 11. ver. 32; Matthew 5:47
• 12. 1 Kings 18:26
• 13. Proverbs 10:19; Ecclesiastes 5:2
• 14. ver. 32
• 15. For ver. 9-13, [Luke 11:2-4]
• 16. ver. 1
• 17. Isaiah 29:23; [Luke 1:49; 1 Peter 3:15]
• 18. John 17:6
• 19. [Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17]
• 20. Matthew 26:42; Luke 22:42; Acts 21:14; [Matthew 12:50; Hebrews 13:21]
• 21. Psalms 103:20, 21; Daniel 4:35
• 22. Proverbs 30:8
• 23. [ver. 34]
• 24. Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40, 46; [1 Corinthians 10:13]
• 25. John 17:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; [2 Timothy 4:18]
• 26. See Matthew 13:19
• 27. Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
• 28. Matthew 18:35; See James 2:13
• 29. Isaiah 58:5
• 30. ver. 2, 5
• 31. Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 12:20
• 32. ver. 4, 6
• 33. Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:21, 33, 34; Luke 18:22; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10, 17-19; Hebrews 13:5
• 34. James 5:2, 3
• 35. Matthew 24:43
• 36. [See ver. 19 above]
• 37. Luke 11:34, 35
• 38. [See ver. 22 above]
• 39. Matthew 20:15; Deuteronomy 15:9; Proverbs 28:22
• 40. Luke 16:13; [Romans 6:16; James 4:4]
• 41. Luke 16:9, 11, 13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence
• [b]. Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done
• [c]. Or our bread for tomorrow
• [d]. Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
• [e]. Or worm; also verse 20
• [f]. Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions