Matthew 6
6
Doing Good Deeds Secretly
1“Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people so that they’ll see you. If you do that, you won’t get any reward from your Father in heaven.
Giving to People in Need
2“When you give to people in need, don’t announce it by having trumpets blown in front of you. That’s what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets because they want people to notice them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 3But when you give to people in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that other people will see them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 6When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, don’t keep talking on and on like the people who worship other gods. They think their prayers will be answered because they’ve talked so much. 8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.
9“Therefore, pray like this:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
10May your kingdom come—
may your will be done on earth
as it already is done in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread,
12and forgive our sins,
just as we forgive those who sin against us.
13Don’t let us fall into temptation,
and save us from the evil one.’
14If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don’t forgive other people, your Father won’t forgive your sins.
Fasting
16“When you go without eating, don’t look all sad like the hypocrites. They make strange faces so that people will notice that they’re fasting. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 17But when you go without eating, refresh your hair with olive oil and wash your face. 18Then no one will be able to tell that you’re fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. And your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
God and Money
19“Don’t try to get a lot of riches on earth, because moths and pests can destroy your things there, and thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, make sure you have a lot of riches in heaven, because moths and pests can’t destroy anything there, and thieves can’t break in and steal anything. 21Wherever your riches are, that’s where your heart will be.
22“The eye lets light into the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy, then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it’s really dark!
24“No one can serve two masters. Either you’ll hate the first and love the second, or you’ll be devoted to the first and not care about the second. You can’t serve both God and money.
God Knows What You Need
25“So I’m telling you not to worry about your life, what you’ll eat or drink, and not to worry about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? And isn’t there more to the body than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or harvest crops, and they don’t put grain away in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27Can any of you add even one hour to your life by worrying?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes, 29but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed as well as one of these flowers. 30If God dresses the wild grass so well, even though it’s here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, isn’t he even more likely to make sure that you have clothes? You have such little faith! 31Don’t get all worried and say, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32People who don’t trust in God are concerned with those things. But your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33So be concerned about the kingdom of God first, and do what he wants you to do, and all those things will also be given to you. 34Don’t worry about tomorrow—let it worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.
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Matthew 6
6
1‘Take heed your kindness not to do before men, to be seen by them, and if not — reward ye have not from your Father who [is] in the heavens;
2whenever, therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men; verily I say to you — they have their reward!
3‘But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth,
4that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.
5‘And when thou mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places — standing — to pray, that they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.
6‘But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.
7‘And — praying — ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard,
8be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him;
9thus therefore pray ye: ‘Our Father who [art] in the heavens! hallowed be Thy name.
10‘Thy reign come: Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.
11‘Our appointed bread give us to-day.
12‘And forgive us our debts, as also we forgive our debtors.
13‘And mayest Thou not lead us to temptation, but deliver us from the evil, because Thine is the reign, and the power, and the glory — to the ages. Amen.
14‘For, if ye may forgive men their trespasses He also will forgive you — your Father who [is] in the heavens;
15but if ye may not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16‘And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.
17‘But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,
18that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.
19‘Treasure not up to yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust disfigure, and where thieves break through and steal,
20but treasure up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth disfigure, and where thieves do not break through nor steal,
21for where your treasure is, there will be also your heart.
22‘The lamp of the body is the eye, if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be enlightened,
23but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that [is] in thee is darkness — the darkness, how great!
24‘None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.
25‘Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing?
26look to the fowls of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses, and your heavenly Father doth nourish them; are not ye much better than they?
27‘And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?
28and about clothing why are ye anxious? consider well the lilies of the field; how do they grow? they do not labour, nor do they spin;
29and I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.
30‘And if the herb of the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast to the furnace, God doth so clothe — not much more you, O ye of little faith?
31therefore ye may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we put round?
32for all these do the nations seek for, for your heavenly Father doth know that ye have need of all these;
33but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.
34Be not therefore anxious for the morrow, for the morrow shall be anxious for its own things; sufficient for the day [is] the evil of it.
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