Matthew 6
6
1“Make sure not to do your good deeds in front of people, just so they can be seen. Otherwise you won't have any reward from your Father in heaven. 2When you give to the poor, don't be like the hypocrites#6:2. A word taken from the Greek which literally means “play-acting.” who blow their own trumpets to announce what they're doing in the synagogues and in the streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth: they already have their reward. 3When you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. 4That way what you give will be in secret, and your Father who sees what happens in secret will reward you.
5When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people can see them. I promise you, they already have their reward. 6But you, when you pray, go indoors and close the door, and pray to your Father in private, and your Father who sees what happens in private will reward you. 7When you pray, don't babble on meaninglessly like the foreigners do, who think they will be heard because of all the words they repeat. 8Don't be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him. 9So pray like this:
Our heavenly Father, may your name be honored. 10May your kingdom come! May your will be carried out in earth as it is in heaven. 11Please give to us today the food we need. 12Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13Please don't let us give in to temptation,#6:13. Or “Please don't allow us to enter temptation.” The sense here is permissive rather than causative. In other words the prayer is for God not to allow temptation to overcome us. He is not the one bringing the temptation. and save us from the evil one.
14For if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don't forgive those who sin against you, then your heavenly Father won't forgive your sins.
16When you fast, don't be like the hypocrites who put on sad faces and make themselves look terrible so that everyone can see they're fasting. I tell you the truth, they already have their reward. 17Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart, 18so that people won't see you're fasting, and your unseen Father who sees what happens in private will reward you.
19Don't pile up wealth here on earth where moths and rust ruin it, and where thieves break in and steal it. 20Instead, you should store up your wealth in heaven, where moths and rust don't ruin it, and where thieves don't break in and steal it. 21For what you value the most shows who you really are.
22The eye is like a lamp that lights the body. So if your eye is healthy,#6:22. Or “good, innocent.” then your whole body will have light. 23But if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the ‘light’ you have is actually darkness, how dark is that! 24No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Money.#6:24. Literally, “Mammon,” a transliteration from the Aramaic word for the Syrian god of money and wealth.
25That's why I'm telling you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about what to eat, or what to drink, or what clothes to put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds#6:26. Literally, “birds of the air,” referring to wild birds rather than domesticated birds.—they don't sow or reap or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they are? 27Who of you by worrying can add a minute to your life? 28And why are you worried about clothes? Look at the beautiful flowers in the field. See how they grow: they don't work hard, they don't spin thread. 29But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these flowers. 30So if God decorates the fields like this, grass which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, won't he do much more for you, you people who trust so little? 31So don't worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32These are all the things that the heathen chase after, but your heavenly Father knows everything you need. 33Seek his kingdom first, and his way of living right, and everything will be given to you. 34So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There's already enough evil in every day.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 6
6
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
1 “Be [very] careful not to do your #Lit righteousness before men.good deeds publicly, to be seen by men; otherwise you will have no reward [prepared and awaiting you] with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not blow a trumpet before you [to advertise it], as the hypocrites do [like actors acting out a role] in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored and recognized and praised by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. 3But when you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing [give in complete secrecy], 4so that your charitable acts will be done in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
5 “Also, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray [publicly] standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, # I.e. as a model or pattern. in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
# I.e. set apart, keep and treat as holy, revere. Hallowed be Your name.
10 # A plea for God’s kingdom to be inaugurated on earth. Your kingdom come,
Your # Including what God wishes to be done by the individual believer—His commands and precepts. will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our # I.e. life’s essentials. daily bread.
12 And forgive us our # I.e. sins, moral failures. debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
13 And do not # I.e. lead us away from situations where we are vulnerable and have the opportunity to sin. God does not tempt man (see James 1:13) but does allow man to be tested. lead us into temptation, but deliver us from # Or the evil one. evil. # This clause is not found in early mss. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
14 For if you forgive # Gr anthropoi. others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.
Fasting, The True Treasure, Wealth (Mammon)
16 “And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a sad and dismal face [like actors, discoloring their faces with ashes or dirt] so that their fasting may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head [as you normally would to groom your hair] and wash your face 18so that your fasting will not be noticed by people, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves [material] treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. 23But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27And who of you by worrying can add one #Lit cubit, here probably applied metaphorically to a lifespan.hour to [the length of] his life? 28And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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