“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in
order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from
your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your
giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they
love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners,
that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and
shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles
do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him. Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for
they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by
others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But
when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your
fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in
secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy,
your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is
darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what
you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you
will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles
seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
