Matthew

¹Be careful not to make your charitable giving¹⁰⁰ before other people, with the intention to be seen by them. If you do so, you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ²Therefore, when you do merciful deeds,¹⁰¹ do not sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to receive glory from men. Amen, I tell you: they have [already] received their reward. ³But when you do merciful deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your merciful deeds may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.¹⁰²

Prayer—‘The Lord’s prayer’

⁵When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Amen, I tell you: they have [already] received their reward! ⁶But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. Then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.^{103 7}When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the Gentiles¹⁰⁴ do, for they think that they will be heard on account of their many words. ⁸Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.^{105 9}Pray like this:

¹⁴Truly, if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive people their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses.

About fasting—Treasures in heaven—The light of the body

¹⁶Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with their gloomy faces: they disfigure their faces so that people may see that they are fasting! Amen, I tell you: they have received their reward. ¹⁷But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸so that people may not see that you are fasting. Only your Father who is in secret will see, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

¹⁹Do not store up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰Instead, store for yourselves treasures in heaven,¹¹⁰ where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹Indeed, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²The lamp of the body is the eye! If therefore your eye is sound,¹¹¹ your whole body will be full of light. ²³But 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!

Two masters—Dependence on God’s providence

²⁴No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.^{112 25}Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, wondering what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶See the birds of the sky: they do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them! Are you not of much more value than they?

²⁷Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment¹¹³ to his lifespan? ²⁸Why then are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil or spin, ²⁹yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these! ³⁰But if God clothes the grass of the field which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven; will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith?

³¹Therefore, do not be anxious, saying: ‘’’What will we eat?’ ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ ³²It is the Gentiles¹¹⁴ who seek after all these things, but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Judging others—‘Pearls offered to swine’

100. Or “to give alms”
101. Or “when you practice righteousness”
102. CT omits “openly”
103. CT omits “openly”
104. Or “nations, heathen, pagans”
105. Codex Bezae (D) reads “before you open your mouth” instead of “before you ask him”
110. The 1611 Authorized Version associates Sirach 29:11 with Matthew 6:20, Luke 11:41 and 12:33, Acts 10:4, and 1 Timothy 6:18, 19 in a marginal note.
111. Or “healthy”
112. Or “Money”
113. Literally, cubit
114. Or “nations, heathen, pagans”