Parallel Bible results for "Mathew 6:1-21"

Matthew 6:1-21

NRS

MSG

1 "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
1 "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding.
2 "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
2 "When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure - 'playactors' I call them - treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
3 When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks.
4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
4 Just do it - quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
5 "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
6 "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
7 "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
7 "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
8 Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.
9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
9 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
10 Set the world right; Do what's best - as above, so below.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
11 Keep us alive with three square meals.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
12 Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
13 Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
14 "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.
15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
15 If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.
16 "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
16 "When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
17 If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face.
18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
18 God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well. A Life of God-Worship
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
19 "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or - worse! - stolen by burglars.
20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
20 Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
21 It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.