Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(B)

Prayer^(C)

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing^(D) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,^(E) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting

¹⁶ “When you fast,^(A) do not look somber^(B) as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(C)

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(A) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

Concluding Affirmations

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God^(A) so that you may know that you have eternal life.^{(B) 14} This is the confidence^(C) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.^{(D) 15} And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know^(E) that we have what we asked of him.^(F)

¹⁶ If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.^(G) I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.^(H) I am not saying that you should pray about that.^{(I) 17} All wrongdoing is sin,^(J) and there is sin that does not lead to death.^(K)

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God^(L) does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one^(M) cannot harm them.^{(N) 19} We know that we are children of God,^(O) and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.^(P)