Matthew 6
What Happens in This Chapter
Jesus keeps teaching the crowd on the hillside. He tells people to give to the poor, to pray, and to fast quietly, without showing off, because their Father sees in secret. He gives them words to pray with, and he warns that people cannot serve both God and money. Then he tells them not to worry about food, drink, or clothes, but to look for God's kingdom first.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
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. Do not do good things just so people will watch you. If you do that, 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.
2When you give money to poor people, do not blow a trumpet first. Pretenders do that in synagogues, the buildings where people met to worship God. They do it in the streets too. They want people to 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:
3When you give to poor people, keep it quiet. Do not even let your left hand 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.
4Give in a way no one sees. Your Father sees what is done in secret. He 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, do not be like the pretenders. They love to stand and pray where everyone can see them. They do it in the synagogues and on street corners. 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.
6When you pray, go into a room by yourself and shut the door. Pray there to your Father, who cannot be seen. Your Father sees what is done in secret. He will reward you.
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, do not say the same words again and again with no meaning. People who do not know God pray that way. They think God will hear them 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.
8Do not 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 people on earth do what you want, just as it is done in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
11Give us the food we need for today.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
12Forgive us for the wrong things we have done. We forgive the people who do wrong to 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.
13Do not let us be pulled into doing wrong. Keep us safe from evil. The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
Many of the oldest copies of Matthew end this prayer at "keep us safe from evil." The line about the kingdom, the power, and the glory is not in them.
14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
14If you forgive other people for the wrong things they do, your Father in heaven will forgive you too.
15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
15But if you do not forgive other people, your Father will not forgive the wrong things you do.
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.
16Sometimes people fast. That means they go without food for a time. When you fast, do not look sad like the pretenders. They make their faces look awful so everyone can tell they are fasting. I tell you the truth. That is the only reward they get.
17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
17When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, like any other day.
In Bible times, putting oil on your head was normal, like combing your hair. Jesus is saying to look like you do on an ordinary 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 will not see that you are fasting. Only your Father will see, and he cannot be seen. Your Father sees what is done in secret. 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:
19Do not pile up riches for yourself here on earth. Moths and rust eat them away. 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, pile up riches for yourself in heaven. There no moth or rust eats them away. No thief breaks in and steals them.
21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
21Your heart will always be where your treasure is.
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
22The eye is like a lamp for the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
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. If the light inside you is really darkness, how dark that 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 at once. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will hold on to one and care nothing for the other. You cannot work for God and for money at the same time.
The KJV says "mammon." It is an old word for money and riches.
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, do not worry about your life. Do not worry about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about what clothes you will wear. Life is more than food. The body is more than clothes.
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 do not plant seeds. They do not cut grain or store it in barns. Your Father in heaven feeds them anyway. You are worth much more than birds.
27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
27Can any of you add even one hour to your life by worrying? No.
The KJV says "add one cubit unto his stature." A cubit is about the length of your arm from elbow to fingertips. The words can mean adding height to your body or adding time to your life. Most translators think it means time.
28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
28Why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wild flowers in the fields. They do not work hard. They do not make cloth.
29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
29But I tell you, even King Solomon, with all his riches, was never dressed as finely 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. It grows today, and tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. So God will surely give you clothes too. Why do you trust him so little?
31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
31So do not worry. Do not ask, What will we eat? What will we drink? 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 do not know God run after all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need them.
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
33Look first for God's kingdom, and live the good way he wants. Then he will give you all these other things too.
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 do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
← → to turn the page · P for plain English · click a verse to sit with it