6
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them;
otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2
“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honoured
by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give
to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so
that your giving will be in secret; and your 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 stand
and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen
by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you
pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is
in secret, and your 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 many words. 8 So do not
be like them; for your Father knows what
you need before you ask Him.
9
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in
heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in
heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our
daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not
forgive your transgressions.
Fasting;
The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)
16
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they
neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are
fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when
you fast, anoint 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 Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you.
19
“Do 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
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do
not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
22
“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body
will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full
of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the
darkness!
24
“No 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 wealth.
The
Cure for Anxiety
25
“For this reason I say to you, do not be
worried about your life, 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 Look at the birds of the air, 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 worried can
add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried 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 Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like
one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive
today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe
you? You of little faith!
31 Do not worry 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 your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own.