Matthew 6

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Concerning Almsgiving

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.^(A)

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.^{(B) 3} But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^[a](C)

Concerning Prayer

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.^{(D) 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.^[b](E)

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.^{(F) 8} Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “Pray, then, in this way:

¹⁴ “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,^{(K) 15} but if you do not forgive others,^[f] neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.^(L)

Concerning Fasting

¹⁶ “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and 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.^[g]

Concerning Treasures

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust^[h] consume and where thieves break in and steal,^{(M) 20} but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust^[i] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.^{(N) 21} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Eye

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,^{(O) 23} but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Serving Two Masters

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.^[j](P)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,^[k] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?^{(Q) 26} Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?^{(R) 27} And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?^{[l] 28} And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God^[m] and his^[n] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^(S)

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.