Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
Matthew 6
Giving Without Performing
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you as hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets so that people will honor them. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and pray in synagogues and on street corners so that people will see them. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not pile up empty words as the Gentiles do, because they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Therefore pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be made holy.
May your kingdom come.
May your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us into testing,
but rescue us from the evil one.
“For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting
“Whenever you fast, do not become gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance so that their fasting will be visible to people. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be seen by people but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Treasure and the Eye
“Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and decay destroy and thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys and 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 healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
God and Wealth
“No one can serve two masters, because either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Do Not Be Anxious
“Therefore I tell you: do not be anxious about your life—what you will eat or drink—or about your body—what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to your span of life? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. If God clothes the grass of the field this way—alive today and tomorrow thrown into the oven—will he not much more clothe you, you of little trust? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ The Gentiles pursue all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.