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Shared Word Translation

Matthew 6

Treasures and the Heart

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No one can serve two masters; for either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

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Notes

Translation notes for Matthew 6.

v01

A textual question stands here. Some manuscripts read “your alms” (ἐλεημοσύνη) rather than “your righteousness” (δικαιοσύνη). The earlier and broader reading is “righteousness,” which the verse then specifies in the three practices that follow: almsgiving, prayer, fasting.

v02

“Have received their reward in full” (ἀπέχουσιν) is a commercial term meaning “paid in full.” The hypocrites’ visibility is itself the wage.

v06

The “room” (ταμεῖον) is an inner chamber, often a storeroom—a place neither public nor decorated.

v07

“Empty phrases” (βατταλογήσητε) is onomatopoeic in Greek; the word names the sound of stammering or babbling.

v09–13

The prayer is offered as a model, not a script. Its formal features—address, petitions toward God, petitions for the community, petitions for protection—structure the prayer rather than dictate its words.

v11

“Daily” (ἐπιούσιος) is an unresolved word in Greek; it appears almost nowhere outside this prayer. Possible meanings include “for today,” “for tomorrow,” and “necessary for existence.” The translation preserves the traditional rendering without claiming certainty.

v12

“Debts” (ὀφειλήματα) is rendered literally; the financial register is left intact rather than smoothed to “trespasses” or “sins.” The word for trespass (παραπτώματα) appears in the next verses.

v13

The traditional doxology (“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory”) appears in many manuscripts and liturgical traditions but is not present in the earliest witnesses. It is not included in the main text.

v22–23

“Single” (ἁπλοῦς) and “evil” (πονηρός) carry idiomatic weight in Hebrew thought, where the “single” or “good” eye refers to generosity and the “evil” eye to greed. The literal translation is preserved; the idiom is left for the reader to hear.

v22–23

“Single” (ἁπλοῦς) and “evil” (πονηρός) carry idiomatic weight. In a Semitic idiom, a “good” or “single” eye can suggest generosity, while an “evil” eye can suggest greed.

v24

“Wealth” renders Mammon (μαμωνᾶ), an Aramaic word for property or possessions. The personification is intentional; wealth is treated as a rival lord.

v25–34

The repeated command “do not be anxious” (μὴ μεριμνᾶτε) frames the section. The argument moves from analogy (birds, lilies) to identity (you are more) to reorientation (seek first).

v01

A textual question stands here.

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Vocabulary

Selected source-language vocabulary for Matthew 6.

v01

δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē)

Righteousness, right practice. Names a way of life rather than a moral state.

v02

ὑποκριτής (hypokritēs)

Hypocrite, literally one who plays a part on a stage. The metaphor is theatrical, not moralistic.

v06

ταμεῖον (tameion)

Inner room, storeroom. The least visible part of the house.

v07

βατταλογέω (battalogeō)

To babble, to repeat empty phrases. Onomatopoeic.

v11

ἐπιούσιος (epiousios)

“An uncertain word usually rendered daily. Possibly for the coming day or necessary for existence.”

v12

ὀφειλήματα (opheilēmata)

Debts, what is owed. The financial sense is primary.

v13

πονηροῦ (ponērou)

“The evil” or “the evil one.” The genitive is ambiguous and the ambiguity is preserved.

v22

ἁπλοῦς (haplous)

“Single, undivided, sound. In Hebrew idiom, generous.”

v24

μαμωνᾶ (mamōna)

Wealth, property. An Aramaic loanword personified as a master.

v25

μεριμνάω (merimnaō)

To be anxious, to be drawn in many directions. Carries the sense of inner division.

v02

ὑποκριτής (hypokritēs)

“Hypocrite, literally one who plays a part on a stage.” The metaphor is theatrical, not moralistic.