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Matthew — Chapter 6

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1 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.

2 Therefore 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.

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

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

5 And 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.

6 But 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.

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

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

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

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

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

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

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

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

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

16 Moreover 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.

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

18 That 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.

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

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

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

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

23 But 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!

24 No 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.

25 Therefore 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?

26 Behold 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?

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

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

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

30 Wherefore, 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?

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

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

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

34 Take 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.

Abrahamic Catechism

Bible Study

Matthew — Chapter 6

✦ Talmud

• The Lord's Prayer's opening "Our Father who art in heaven" (Avinu she-bashamayim) is a standard rabbinic formula appearing in Sotah 9:15, Yoma 8:9, and repeatedly in the liturgy of the Amidah. The Talmud in Berakhot 29b preserves short prayers similar in structure to the Lord's Prayer, designed as condensed versions of the eighteen blessings. The phrase "hallowed be thy name" directly parallels the Kaddish's "yitgaddal v'yitkaddash sh'mei rabbah" — magnified and sanctified be His great name.

• "Give us this day our daily bread" mirrors the Talmudic teaching in Berakhot 35b that one must recite a blessing before eating, acknowledging that all sustenance comes from God. Yoma 76a asks why the manna fell daily rather than annually, and answers that Israel would thereby turn their hearts to their Father in heaven each day. The Talmud in Sotah 48b teaches that whoever has bread for today but worries about tomorrow is of little faith — a teaching Jesus parallels later in the chapter.

• "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" reflects the Talmudic teaching in Rosh Hashanah 17a that God forgives those who forgo claims against others, measure for measure. Yoma 23a teaches that one who does not bear a grudge will have his own sins overlooked by the heavenly court. The Talmud in Megillah 28a records that Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakaneh attributed his longevity to the fact that he never went to sleep bearing a grudge.

• Jesus's teaching to pray in secret rather than publicly for display engages a tension well known in Talmudic literature: Berakhot 34b distinguishes between genuine prayer and mere performance, and Sotah 22b famously lists seven types of hypocritical Pharisees. The Talmud in Berakhot 31a derives laws of prayer from Hannah, who prayed silently — her lips moved but her voice could not be heard. The rabbinic ideal of kavvanah (inner intention) over outward show is precisely Jesus's point.

• "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" parallels the Talmudic teaching in Avot 2:9 where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai asks his students what is the good path to which a person should cling, and Rabbi Elazar answers "a good heart." Bava Batra 11a tells the story of King Monobaz who gave away his treasures, saying "my ancestors stored treasures below, but I have stored treasures above." The Talmud consistently teaches that heavenly wealth supersedes earthly accumulation.

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