Matthew 6 · WEB
Giving, Prayer, Fasting, and Seeking First the Kingdom
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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"Be careful that you don't do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don't sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
3But when you do merciful deeds, don't let your left hand know what your right hand does,
4so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
5"When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7In praying, don't use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8Therefore don't be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.
9Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.'
14"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15But if you don't forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16"Moreover when you fast, don't be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face,
18so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
19"Don't lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don't break through and steal;
21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore 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 else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Mammon.
25Therefore I tell you, don't be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they?
27"Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?
28Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin,
29yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
31"Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?'
32For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
34Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient.
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Summary
Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount by addressing the three pillars of Jewish piety—giving, prayer, and fasting—warning against doing them to be seen by people and instead urging them to be done in secret before the Father. He teaches the Lord's Prayer as a model and links forgiveness from God to forgiveness toward others. He then redirects the heart from earthly treasure to heavenly treasure, declares that no one can serve both God and money, and commands his followers not to worry about food or clothing but to seek first God's Kingdom and righteousness.
Themes
- Hidden righteousness before the Father
- Prayer as relationship, not performance
- Forgiveness given and received
- Eternal treasure over earthly wealth
- Trust over anxiety
Key verses
- Matt 6:21 — “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
- Matt 6:24 — “You can't serve both God and Mammon.”
- Matt 6:33 — “Seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.”
- Matt 6:9-10 — “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Context & background
This portion of the Sermon on the Mount was delivered on a hillside near Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake in modern northern Israel. Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting were the three classic acts of Jewish devotion in the first century, and Jesus assumes his followers will practice all three. "Mammon" is an Aramaic word for wealth or property personified almost as a rival deity. The vivid images of birds and lilies are drawn from the natural landscape of Galilee, where wildflowers bloomed across the hillsides each spring.
Cross-references
- 1 Tim 6:9-10 — Paul's warning that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
- Isa 58:6-7 — God's preferred fast: justice and care for the poor, not show.
- Luke 11:1-4 — Luke's shorter version of the Lord's Prayer, given in response to the disciples' request.
- Phil 4:6-7 — "Don't be anxious about anything," Paul's parallel call to trust over worry.
- Ps 37:4 — "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" — echoes Matt 6:33.