Matthew Chapter 6

1 "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.

2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,

4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

5 "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

7 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.

8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread;

12 and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;

13 and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.

14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

16 "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.

20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

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

22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;

23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

24 "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, 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?

26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?

27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?

28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.

29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.

30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

31 So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?'

32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all

33 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.