Matthew

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

1Be careful not to do your good deeds in front of people just so they will watch you. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you.

2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

2So when you give to poor people, don't blow a trumpet to announce it. Hypocrites, people who put on a show, do that in the meeting places and streets so others will praise them. I tell you the truth: that praise is the only reward they get.

3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

3But when you give to the poor, do it so quietly that even your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing.

4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

4Then your giving stays secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

5When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. They love to stand and pray in the meeting places and on street corners so everyone can see them. I tell you the truth: being seen is the only reward they get.

6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

6But when you pray, go into a room by yourself and shut the door. Pray to your Father, who cannot be seen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

NoteThe KJV says "closet." In 1611 that meant a private inner room of a house, not a place to hang clothes.

7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

7When you pray, don't pile up empty words over and over, the way people who don't know God do. They think they will be heard because they talk so much.

8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

8Don't be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.

9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

9So pray like this: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored as holy.

10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

10May your kingdom come. May what you want be done here on earth, just as it is done in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

11Give us today the food we need for today.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

12Forgive us for what we owe you, just as we have forgiven the people who owe us.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

13Don't let us be led into temptation, but keep us safe from evil. The kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to you forever. Amen."

14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

14If you forgive other people when they do wrong, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.

15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

15But if you don't forgive other people, your Father will not forgive the wrong things you have done.

16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

16When you fast, which means going without food for a time in order to pray, don't look gloomy like the hypocrites. They make their faces look awful so everyone can tell they are fasting. I tell you the truth: being noticed is the only reward they get.

17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, the way you would on any normal day.

18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

18Then people won't be able to tell you are fasting. Only your Father will know, and he cannot be seen. He sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.

19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

19Don't pile up treasures for yourself here on earth. Moths eat them, rust ruins them, and thieves break in and steal them.

20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

20Instead, store up treasures for yourself in heaven. There no moth or rust ruins them, and no thief breaks in and steals them.

21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

21Whatever you treasure most is where your heart will be.

22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

22Your eye is like a lamp for your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

NoteIn this word picture, "single" means healthy or clear, and "evil" means diseased. The verses are not about a good or wicked eyeball.

23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the light inside you is really darkness, how deep that darkness is!

24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

24No one can work for two masters. He will hate one and love the other, or stick with one and look down on the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Note"Mammon" is an old word for money and the things money buys.

25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

25So I tell you, don't worry about your life, about what you will eat or drink. Don't worry about your body, about what you will wear. Life is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than clothes.

Note"Take no thought" in 1611 English meant "don't be anxious," not "don't plan ahead." In this chapter "meat" means food of any kind, and "raiment" means clothing.

26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

26Look at the birds in the sky. They don't plant seed, harvest crops, or store food in barns, yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren't you worth much more than they are?

27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

27Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?

28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

28And why worry about clothes? Look at the wild flowers in the field and how they grow. They don't work, and they don't make cloth.

29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

29Yet I tell you that even King Solomon, with all his riches, was never dressed as well as one of these flowers.

30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

30God dresses the grass in the field, and grass is here today and thrown into the oven tomorrow. Won't he do much more for you, you who have so little faith?

31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

31So don't worry and ask, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?"

32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

32People who don't know God run after all these things. Your Father in heaven already knows that you need them.

33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

33Put God's kingdom and his right way of living first, and all these other things will be given to you as well.

34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

34So don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.