Matthew
Chapter 6
1 Be careful not to do good things in front of others just to be noticed, because if you do, you won’t get any reward from your Father in heaven.
2 When you give to the needy, don’t announce it loudly like hypocrites in the synagogues and streets for attention. Truly, they’ve received their reward.
3 When you give to those in need, don’t let one hand know what the other is doing.
4 Give your help to others quietly, and God, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly.
5 When you pray, don’t be like the fakers who like to pray in public places just to be seen by others. Truly, they have gotten all they will get.
6 When you pray, go into your room and close the door, then pray to your Father who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what’s done in secret, will reward you.
7 When you pray, don’t keep on repeating words with no meaning, like other people do. They believe they will be heard because they talk a lot.
8 Do not be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.
10 Let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth, just like it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need.
12 Forgive us what we owe, as we forgive those who owe us.
13 Do not let us be tempted, but save us from evil: for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, forever. Amen.
14 If you forgive people for what they’ve done wrong, God in heaven will forgive you too.
15 If you don’t forgive others for their wrongs, God won’t forgive your wrongs either.
16 When you fast, don’t be like the fakes who look sad to show others they are fasting. Truly, that’s the only reward they will get.
17 When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.
18 Do not show others that you are fasting; only God, who is unseen, should know. And God, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
19 Do not store up treasures for yourself on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 Where you keep your treasure is where your heart will be too.
22 Your eye is like a lamp for your body. If your eye is clear, your whole body will be bright.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is dark, how deep is that darkness!
24 A person can’t serve two bosses: they will either hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and not like the other. You can’t serve God and money.
25 So I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the sky: they don’t plant seeds, harvest, or store food in barns, but God feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are?
27 Who of you can add an inch to your height by worrying?
28 Why worry about clothes? Look at the field lilies; they don’t work or make cloth.
29 I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed as beautifully as one of these.
30 So, if God dresses the grass in the field, which is here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, won’t he dress you even more, you with little faith?
31 So don’t worry, asking, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 The non-believers chase after all these things, but your Father in heaven knows you need them.
33 First, look for God’s kingdom and do what is right; then, all these things will be given to you.
34 Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.