Chapter 6

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men ato be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 “So when you 1give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they amay be honored by men. bTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

3 “But when you 1give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 so that your 1giving will be in secret; and ayour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to astand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners 1bso that they may be seen by men. cTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6 “But you, when you pray, ago into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and byour Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their amany words.

8 “So do not be like them; for ayour Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “aPray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 ‘aYour kingdom come.

bYour will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘aGive us this day 1our daily bread.

12 ‘And aforgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but adeliver us from 1bevil. 2[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

14 “aFor if you forgive 1others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 “But aif you do not forgive 1others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 “aWhenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they 1neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. bTruly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17 “But you, when you fast, aanoint your head and wash your face

18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your aFather who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 “aDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20 “But store up for yourselves atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21 for awhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “aThe eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is 1clear, your whole body will be full of light.

23 “But if ayour eye is 1bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “aNo one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and 1bwealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25 “aFor this reason I say to you, 1do not be bworried about your 2life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 “aLook at the birds of the 1air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27 “And who of you by being aworried can badd a single 1hour to his 2life?

28 “And why are you aworried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29 yet I say to you that not even aSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30 “But if God so clothes the agrass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? bYou of little faith!

31 “Do not aworry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for ayour heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 “But 1seek first 2His kingdom and His righteousness, and aall these things will be 3added to you.

34 “So do not aworry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will 1care for itself. 2Each day has enough trouble of its own.