Matthew 6

1 “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.

2 Therefore, 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.

3 But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does,

4 so 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.

6 But 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.

7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.

8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.

9 Pray like this: “‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

13 Bring 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.

15 But 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.

17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18 so 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;

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;

21 for 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.

23 But 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.

25 Therefore 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?

26 See 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?

28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,

29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.

30 But 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?’

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

Around Matthew 6

Book context

MatthewEditorial draft

Matthew opens by presenting Jesus as “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1) and keeps connecting his life to the Hebrew Scriptures. Its teaching centres on the Kingdom of Heaven (4:17), gathers long blocks of Jesus’ teaching such as the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 to 7), and closes with the commission to make disciples of all nations (28:19). The book does not name its author; early church tradition attributes it to the apostle Matthew. Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) dates it around AD 60 to 65 and holds that it was the first Gospel written. Many later scholars think Mark came first, so the order of the Gospels is debated.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · debated · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Matthew 6 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Jesus keeps teaching on the mountain, and now he talks about what goes on when nobody is looking. Giving to the poor, prayer and fasting are all good, he says, but not if they are done to be seen. The Father sees in secret, and he will reward. Don't pile up empty words either, because the Father knows what you need before you ask.

Then he gives a prayer. It begins, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” It asks for God's Kingdom and will to come, for daily bread, for forgiveness as we forgive, and for deliverance from the evil one.

He speaks of treasure that moth and rust cannot reach. “You can’t serve both God and Mammon” he says, meaning wealth. And he asks his hearers to look at the birds and the lilies, which neither sow nor spin, and not to be anxious. Seek first God's Kingdom, he says, and let tomorrow worry about itself.

Background

Jesus speaks to his disciples, with crowds listening, as the sermon began in chapter 5. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were three well-known practices in Jewish life. Mammon is an Aramaic word for money or property. The prayer is known as the Lord's Prayer, and Christians use it in different forms. Some copies of Matthew lack the closing line about the Kingdom, the power and the glory; the WEB includes it. Luke 11 has a shorter form of the prayer. The word translated debts also means wrongs owed.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 22 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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Context check

World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes