Matthew 6
1 Be careful not to do your charity before men in order to be seen by them, otherwise ye have no reward from your Father in the heavens.
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.
2 When therefore thou do charity, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.
When you give to the poor, don't be like the hypocrites 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.
3 But when thou do charity, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does,
When you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing.
4 so that thy charity may be in secret. And thy Father who sees in secret will himself reward thee in the open.
That way what you give will be in secret, and your Father who sees what happens in secret will reward you.
5 And when thou pray, thou shall not be as the hypocrites, because they love to pray having stood in the synagogues and in the corners of the thoroughfares, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.
When 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.
6 But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy private room, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will reward thee in the open.
But 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.
7 And while praying do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they will be heard by their much speaking.
When you pray, don't babble on meaninglessly like the foreigners do, who think they will be heard because of all the words they repeat.
8 Be not therefore like them, for your Father knows what things ye have need of before ye ask him.
Don't be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.
9 Pray ye therefore this way: Our Father in the heavens, hallowed be thy name.
So pray like this:
10 May thy kingdom come. May thy will happen on the earth as also in heaven.
Our heavenly Father, may your name be honored. May your kingdom come! May your will be carried out in earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day the bread sufficient for us.
Please give to us today the food we need.
12 And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.
Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, because from thee is the kingdom and the power and the glory into the ages. Truly.
Don't let us be tempted to do wrong, and save us from the evil one.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
For if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
But if you don't forgive those who sin against you, then your heavenly Father won't forgive your sins.
16 And when ye fast, become not like the gloomy looking hypocrites, for they make their faces unsightly, so that they may appear fasting to men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.
When 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.
17 But when thou fast, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,
Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart,
18 so that thou may not appear fasting to men, but to thy Father in secret. And thy Father, who sees in secret, will reward thee.
so that people won't see you're fasting, and your unseen Father who sees what happens in private will reward you.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust deteriorates, and where thieves break through and steal,
Don't pile up wealth here on earth where moths and rust ruin it, and where thieves break in and steal it.
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust deteriorates, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Instead, 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.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
For what you value the most shows who you really are.
22 The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye is sound, thy whole body will be bright.
The eye is like a lamp that lights the body. So if your eye is healthy, then your whole body will have light.
23 But if thine eye is bad, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee is darkness, how great is the darkness!
But if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you is darkness, how dark is that!
24 No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will hold to one, and disparage the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
No 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.
25 Because of this I say to you, be not anxious about your life, what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, nor yet for your body, what ye may wear. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the clothing?
That'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?
26 Look to the birds of the sky, because they sow not, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not more valuable then they?
Look at the 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?
27 And which man of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?
Who of you by worrying can add a minute to your life?
28 And why are ye anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, nor do they spin,
And 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.
29 yet I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these.
But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these flowers.
30 And if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into an oven, will he not much more you, O ye of little faith?
So 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?
31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we wear?
So don't worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that ye need all these things.
These are all the things that the heathen chase after, but your heavenly Father knows everything you need.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Seek his kingdom first, and his way of living right, and everything will be given to you.
34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow, for the morrow will be anxious about things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil of it.
So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There's already enough evil in every day.
