Matthew 6

Expanded Bible

Jesus Teaches About Giving

6 “·Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them [or Be careful not to do/parade your righteous deeds] in front of people to be ·seen [noticed] by them. If you do that, you will ·have no [lose the] reward from your Father in heaven.

² “[^LSo] When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets [^Ceither figuratively (“blow their own horn”) or literally, since trumpets sometimes announced public events] in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and ·honor [admire] them. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward [^Cpraise from people, rather than reward from God]. ³ So when you give to the poor, don’t let ·anyone know what you are [^Lyour left hand know what your right hand is] doing. ⁴ Your giving should be done in ·secret [private]. Your Father can see what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.

Jesus Teaches About Prayer^(A)

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will ·see [notice] them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. ⁶ When you pray, you should go into your [private; inner] room and close the door and pray to your Father ·who cannot be seen [or who is in that secret place; or secretly; in private]. Your Father can see what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.

⁷ “And when you pray, don’t be like ·those people who don’t know God [the pagans/Gentiles/heathen]. They ·continue saying things that mean nothing [babble; repeat empty phrases], thinking ·that God will hear them [^Lthey will be heard; ^Cthe passive verb implies God as subject] because of their many words. ⁸ Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. ⁹ So when you pray, you should pray like this:

¹⁴ ·Yes, [For] if you forgive others for their ·sins [transgressions; failings; trespasses], your Father in heaven will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your ·sins [transgressions; failings; trespasses].

Jesus Teaches About Worship

¹⁶ “When you fast [^Cgiving up eating for spiritual purposes], don’t put on a ·sad [gloomy; somber] face like the hypocrites. They make their faces ·look sad [disheveled; disfigured; unattractive] to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward [v. 2]. ¹⁷ So when you fast [v. 16], ·comb your hair [^Lput oil on/anoint your head; ^Ctypical first century grooming] and wash your face. ¹⁸ Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, ·whom you cannot see [who is hidden/in secret], will see you. Your Father sees what is done in ·secret [private], and he will reward you.

God Is More Important than Money^(B)

¹⁹ “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. ²⁰ But store ·your [for yourselves] treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. ²¹ Your heart will be where your treasure is.

²² “The eye is ·a light [^Lthe lamp] for the body. If your eyes are ·good [healthy; clear], your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are ·evil [unhealthy; bad], your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the ·only light you have [or light you think you have; ^Llight in you] is really darkness, then ·you have the worst darkness [how great that darkness is!].

²⁴ “No one can serve two ·masters [lords]. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will ·follow [be devoted/loyal to] one master and ·refuse to follow [despise] the other. You cannot serve both God and ·worldly riches [money; ^Lmammon].

Don’t Worry^(C)

²⁵ “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. ²⁶ ·Look at [Consider; Think of] the birds in the air. They don’t ·plant [sow] or ·harvest [reap] or ·store food in [gather into] barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And ·you know that you are [^Laren’t you…?] worth much more than the birds. ²⁷ ·You cannot [^LWho of you can…?] add ·any time [or one step; ^Lone cubit; ^Cabout eighteen inches] to your ·life [or height; ^Cthe Greek probably refers to time instead of stature] by worrying about it.

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? ·Look at [Consider; Think] how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t ·work [toil] or ·make clothes for themselves [^Lspin thread]. ²⁹ But I tell you that even Solomon ·with his riches [^Lin all his glory] was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. ³⁰ ·God clothes [^LIf God clothes…?] the ·grass [wildflower] in the field, which is ·alive [here] today but tomorrow is thrown into the ·fire [^Lfurnace; oven]. ·So you can be even more sure that God will [Will he not much more…?] clothe you. ·Don’t have so little faith [or How little faith you have; ^TYou of little faith]! ³¹ Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The ·people who don’t know God [Gentiles; pagans; unbelievers] ·keep trying to get [eagerly seek; run after] these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³ ·Seek first [Be concerned above all else with] God’s kingdom and ·what God wants [^Lhis righteousness]. Then all ·your other needs will be met as well [^Lthese things will be given to you]. ³⁴ So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will ·have its own worries [or worry about/take care of itself]. Each day has enough trouble of its own.