^6:1“Be¹ careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people.² Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. ^6:2Thus whenever you do charitable giving,³ do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues⁴ and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth,⁵ they have their reward. ^6:3But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ^6:4so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.⁶

Private Prayer

^6:5“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues⁷ and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. ^6:6But whenever you pray, go into your room,⁸ close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.⁹^6:7When¹⁰ you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. ^6:8Do¹¹ not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Several (א L Z Θ f1 33 892 1241 1424 al) have δέ (de, “but, now”) at the beginning of this verse; the reading without δέ is supported by B D W 0250 f13 𝔐 lat. A decision is difficult, but apparently the conjunction was added by later scribes to indicate a transition in the thought-flow of the Sermon on the Mount. has δέ in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.
2 Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”
3 Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today. The giving of alms was highly regarded in the ancient world (Deut 15:7–11).
4 See the note on synagogues in .
5 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
6 L W Θ 0250 𝔐 it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tō phanerō, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1–4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z f1, 13 33 al).
7 See the note on synagogues in .
8 The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible ( ταμεῖον 2).
9 See the note on “will reward you” in : The problem is the same and the support differs only slightly.
10 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
11 Grk “So do not.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.