Matthew 6
1 “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.
Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in Heaven has no reward for you.
2 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!
Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!
3 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].
But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 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.
so that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you.
5 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.
And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!
6 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.
But, when one of you prays, let him go into his own room, shut the door, and pray to his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.
7 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].
When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing.
8 Do not [repeat words] as they do, because [God] your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.
9 So pray [things] like this: Father, [you who are] in heaven, we [(exc)] desire that you be honored/revered {that people honor/revere you}.
You, therefore, should pray thus — ‘Our Father, who art in Heaven, may thy name be held holy,
10 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].
thy Kingdom come, thy will be done — on earth, as in Heaven.
11 Give us [(exc)] each day the food [SYN] that we [(exc) need for] that day.
Give us to-day the bread that we shall need;
12 Forgive our sins just like we [(exc)] have forgiven the people who sin against us [(exc)].
and forgive us our wrong-doings, as we have forgiven those who have wronged us;
13 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.”
and take us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.’
14 “[Forgive the people who sin against you], because, if you forgive other people, [God], your Father who is in heaven, will forgive your [sins].
For, if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also;
15 But if you do not forgive other people, neither will God forgive your sins.”
but, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.
16 “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!
And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward!
17 Instead, [each of] you, when you abstain from food, should comb your hair and wash your face [as usual],
But, when one of you fasts, let him anoint his head and wash his face,
18 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.”
that he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.
19 “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.
Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 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.
But store up treasures for yourselves in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.
21 [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].”
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 “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].
The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up;
23 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].”
but, if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkened. And, if the inner light is darkness, how intense must that darkness be!
24 “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].”
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25 “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].
That is why I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life here — what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body — what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?
26 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!]
Look at the wild birds — they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! And are not you more precious than they?
27 (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!]
But which of you, by being anxious, can prolong his life a single moment?
28 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.
And why be anxious about clothing? Study the wild lilies, and how they grow. They neither toil nor spin;
29 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].
yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendour was not robed like one of these.
30 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]
If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living to-day and to-morrow will be thrown into the oven, will not he much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
31 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]
Do not then ask anxiously ‘What can we get to eat?’ or ‘What can we get to drink?’ or ‘What can we get to wear?’
32 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].
All these are the things for which the nations are seeking, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 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]}.
But first seek his Kingdom and the righteousness that he requires, and then all these things shall be added for you.
34 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].”
Therefore do not be anxious about to-morrow, for to-morrow will bring its own anxieties. Every day has trouble enough of its own.
