Matthew 6:1-24

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men ¹to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they ²may be honored by men. ³Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

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

4 so that your giving will be in secret; and ⁴your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ⁵stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ⁶so that they may be seen by men. ⁷Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6 "But you, when you pray, ⁸go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and ⁹your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their ¹⁰many words.

8 "So do not be like them; for ¹¹your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 "¹²Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

10 '¹³Your kingdom come. ¹⁴Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

11 '¹⁵Give us this day our daily bread.

12 'And ¹⁶forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but ¹⁷deliver us from ¹⁸evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']

14 "¹⁹For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 "But ²⁰if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 "²¹Whenever 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. ²²Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17 "But you, when you fast, ²³anoint 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 ²⁴Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 "²⁵Do 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 ²⁶treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21 for ²⁷where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "²⁸The 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 ²⁹your 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 "³⁰No 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 ³¹wealth.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 6:5, 16; Matthew 23:5
• 2. Matthew 6:5, 16; Matthew 23:5
• 3. Matthew 6:5, 16; Luke 6:24
• 4. Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 6:6, 18; Hebrews 4:13
• 5. Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11, 13
• 6. Matthew 6:1, 16
• 7. Matthew 6:2, 16; Luke 6:24
• 8. Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 26:36-39; Acts 9:40
• 9. Matthew 6:4, 18
• 10. 1 Kings 18:26
• 11. Psalms 38:9; Psalms 69:17-19; Matthew 6:32; Luke 12:30
• 12. Matthew 6:9-13: {Luke 11:2-4}
• 13. Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17
• 14. Matthew 26:42; Luke 22:42; Acts 21:14
• 15. Proverbs 30:8; Isaiah 33:16; Luke 11:3
• 16. Exodus 34:7; Psalms 32:1; Psalms 130:4; Matthew 9:2; Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:7-9
• 17. John 17:15; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 4:18; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 John 5:18
• 18. Matthew 5:37
• 19. Matthew 7:2; Mark 11:25; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
• 20. Matthew 18:35
• 21. Isaiah 58:5
• 22. Matthew 6:2
• 23. Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 12:20
• 24. Matthew 6:4, 6
• 25. Proverbs 23:4; Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:21, 33; Luke 18:22; 1 Timothy 6:9, 10; Hebrews 13:5; James 5:2
• 26. Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33; 1 Timothy 6:19
• 27. Luke 12:34
• 28. Matthew 6:22, 23: {Luke 11:34, 35}
• 29. Matthew 20:15; Mark 7:22
• 30. 1 Kings 18:21; Luke 16:13; Galatians 1:10; James 4:4
• 31. Luke 16:9, 11, 13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "give alms"
• [b]. Or "give alms"
• [c]. Or "alms"
• [d]. Lit "to be apparent to men"
• [e]. Or "our bread for tomorrow"
• [f]. Or "the evil one"
• [g]. This clause not found in early mss
• [h]. Gr "anthropoi"
• [i]. Gr "anthropoi"
• [j]. Lit "distort their faces", i.e. discolor their faces with makeup
• [k]. Or "healthy;" or "sincere"
• [l]. Or "evil"
• [m]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship