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.
“When you do your good deeds, make certain that you do not do them when other people are watching so that they may see you [and think highly of you]. If [you do good deeds merely in order that other people may think highly of you, God], your Father who is in heaven, will not give you any reward.
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.
So, whenever you give something to the poor, do not [announce it as people announce something that they want other people to know about] by playing a [fanfare] on a trumpet [MET]. That is what the hypocrites do (in the synagogues/in the Jewish meeting places) and on the main roads in order that people might [see what they do and] praise them. Keep this in mind: [People praise those hypocrites], [but] that is the [only] reward they will receive!
3 But when thou do charity, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does,
Instead [of doing as they do], when you give something to the poor, do not let other people know that you are doing that [MET].
4 so that thy charity may be in secret. And thy Father who sees in secret will himself reward thee in the open.
In that way, you will be giving to the poor secretly. [As a result God], your Father who observes [you] while no one else sees [you], 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.
Also when you pray, do not do what the hypocrites do. They like to stand in the Jewish meeting places and on the corners of the main streets to pray, in order that other people will see them [and think highly of them]. Keep this in mind: [People praise them, but] that is the [only] reward they will get.
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 as for you, when you pray, go into your private room and close the door in order to pray to [God], your Father, whom no one can see. He observes you where no one else observes you, and he 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, do not repeat words many times as the people who do not know God do [when they pray. They repeat meaningless words] because they think that if they use many words, their gods will listen to them and give them [what they ask for].
8 Be not therefore like them, for your Father knows what things ye have need of before ye ask him.
Do not [repeat words] as they do, because [God] your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray ye therefore this way: Our Father in the heavens, hallowed be thy name.
So pray [things] like this: Father, [you who are] in heaven, we [(exc)] desire that you be honored/revered {that people honor/revere you}.
10 May thy kingdom come. May thy will happen on the earth as also in heaven.
We [(exc)] desire that people let you rule [over their lives]. We(exc) want [people who live] on the earth to do what you desire, as those who live in heaven [do what you want them to do].
11 Give us this day the bread sufficient for us.
Give us [(exc)] each day the food [SYN] that we [(exc) need for] that day.
12 And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.
Forgive our sins just like we [(exc)] have forgiven the people who sin against us [(exc)].
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.
Do not let us(exc) do wrong things when we(exc) are tempted {someone or something tempts us}, and rescue us [(exc)] when Satan the evil one tempts us to do evil things.”
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
“[Forgive the people who sin against you], because, if you forgive other people, [God], your Father who is in heaven, will forgive your [sins].
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
But if you do not forgive other people, neither will God 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 abstain from eating food [in order to please God], do not look sad as the hypocrites look. They make their faces appear sad in order that people will see that they are abstaining from food [and will think highly of them]. Keep this in mind: [People will think highly of those people for that], but [that is the only] reward those people will get!
17 But when thou fast, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,
Instead, [each of] you, when you abstain from food, should comb your hair and wash your face [as usual],
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.
in order that other people will not notice that you are fasting [because you will look as you always do]. But [God], your Father, whom no one can see, [will observe that you are abstaining from food. God] your Father sees [you] even though no one else sees [you], and he 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,
“Do not [selfishly] accumulate large quantities of money and material goods for yourselves on [this] earth, because [the earth is where everything is destroyed. For example], on earth termites ruin things, and things rust, and thieves enter [buildings] and steal things.
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, do [deeds that will please God. Your doing such deeds will be like] storing treasures in heaven [MET]. [Nothing perishes in heaven]. In heaven no termites ruin [things], nothing rusts, and thieves do not enter buildings and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
[Remember that] the things [that you think are the most] valuable are [the things that] you will be constantly concerned about [MET]. [So if you want to be storing treasures in heaven], you [need to be] constantly thinking [about God and heaven], [instead of your earthly possessions].”
22 The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye is sound, thy whole body will be bright.
“Your eyes are [like] a lamp [MET] for your body, because they enable you to see things. So if your eyes are healthy, you are able to see everything well [MET]. [Similarly, if you are generous with your money and other possessions, you will be able to know much of what God wants you to know] [MET].
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 eyes are bad, you are not able to see things well. And if that continues, the time will come when you will not be able to see at all. You will be in complete darkness [MET]. [Similarly, if you continue to be greedy, you will be in spiritual darkness. If all that your eyes can see and your mind can think about involves your greedily desiring material possessions, all that you do will be evil] [MET].”
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 is able to serve two [different] bosses [at the same time]. If [he tried to do that], he would dislike one of them and love the other one, or he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one [DOU]. [Similarly], you cannot [devote your life to] worshipping God and [worshipping] money and material goods [at the same time].”
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?
“Because [you should be concerned about what God thinks is important and not about material goods, I] tell you that you should not worry about [things that you need in order to] live. [Do not worry] about whether you will have [enough food] to eat, and [something] to drink, or [enough] clothes to wear. It is important to have [sufficient] food [and drink] and clothing, but the way you conduct your lives is much more important [RHQ].
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 do not plant [seeds, and they do not] harvest [crops] and gather them into barns. [But they always have food to eat because God], your Father who is in heaven, provides food for them. And you are certainly worth a lot more than birds [RHQ]! [So you can be assured that God will supply what you need!]
27 And which man of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?
(None of you can, just by worrying, [add time to your life]./Can any of you, just by worrying, [add time to your life]?) [RHQ] [You cannot] add [even] one minute to your life! [So you should not worry about things such as food and clothing!]
28 And why are ye anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, nor do they spin,
You should also not worry about [whether you will have enough] clothes [to wear] [RHQ]. Think about the way flowers [grow] in the fields. They do not work [to earn money], and they do not make their own clothes.
29 yet I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these.
But I tell you that even though [King] Solomon, who [lived long ago], [wore very beautiful clothes], his clothes were not as beautiful as one of those [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?
God makes the wild plants very beautiful, [but they grow] in the field [for only a short time]. One day they grow, and the next day they are thrown into an oven {someone [cuts them and] throws them into an oven} [to be burned to make heat for baking bread. But you are more important to God than wild plants are, and you live much longer]. So (God will certainly provide clothes for you who [live a long time but] trust him so little!/will not God surely very adequately clothe you, [who live a long time but] trust him so little?) [RHQ]
31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we wear?
Because of God’s caring for you, do not worry and say, ‘Will we have anything to eat?’ or ‘Will we have anything to drink?’ or ‘Will we have clothes to wear?’ [RHQ]
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that ye need all these things.
Those who do not know God are always worrying about things like that. But God, your Father who is in heaven, knows that you need all those things, [so you should not worry about them].
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Instead, the most important thing you should be concerned about is to let [God] completely direct your life, and to strive [to live] righteously. [If you do that], all the things that you [need] will be given to you {God will give you all the things [that you need]}.
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 [each day] do not be worried about what will happen to you the next day, because [when] that day [PRS] comes, [you] will be concerned about [what happens during] that day. You will have enough to be concerned about each day. [So do not worry ahead of time].”
