Matthew 6:1–24

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,

⁴so 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. ²For 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

¹⁸so 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;

²¹for ^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.