Matthew 6:27

Matthew 6:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
• New International Version (NIV)Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
• English Standard Version (ESV)And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Context of Matthew 6:27

25“Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying can add one hour to [the length of] his life? 28And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these.

Matthew 6:27 word by word

τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται προσθεῖναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ πῆχυν ἕνα;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whichτίςtis · which?G5101
• ·δέde · thenG1161
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• youσύsu · youG4771
• by taking thoughtμεριμνάωmerimnaō · to worryG3309
• canδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• addπροστίθημιprostithēmi · to add (to)G4369
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• cubitπῆχυςpēchus · cubit/hourG4083
• untoἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• statureὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• statureἡλικίαhēlikia · age/heightG2244

Cross-references for Matthew 6:27

• Matthew 5:36Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you are not able to make a single hair white or black.
• Psalms 39:6Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade]; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.
• Ecclesiastes 3:14I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].
• Luke 12:25And which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life’s span?
• 1 Corinthians 12:18But now [as things really are], God has placed and arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as He willed and saw fit [with the best balance of function].

Commentaries on Matthew 6:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? - The third reason against these carking cares is the unprofitableness of human solicitude, unless God vouchsafe to bless it. What can our uneasiness do but render us still more unworthy of the Divine care? The passage from distrust to apostasy is very short and easy; and a man is not far from murmuring against Providence, who is dissatisfied with its conduct. We should depend as fully…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27Which of you, by taking thought - The third argument is taken from their extreme weakness and helplessness. With all your care you cannot increase your stature a single cubit. God has ordered your height. Beyond his appointment your powers are of no avail, and you can do nothing. So of raiment. He, by His providence, orders and arranges the circumstances of your life. “Beyond” that appointment of His providence, beyond his care for you, your efforts avail…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-34Verses 25-34 There is scarcely any sin against which our Lord Jesus more warns his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life. This often insnares the poor as much as the love of wealth does the rich. But there is a carefulness about temporal things which is a duty, though we must not carry these lawful cares too far. Take no thought for your life. Not about the length of it; but refer it to God to lengthen…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-34Jesus taught people to live without worry by trusting God to provide for them. His disciples abandoned everything (Matthew 4:18–22; 9:9; 10:5–14). Jesus encouraged them that God would provide their needs.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. Which of you, by taking thought--anxious solicitude. can add one cubit unto his stature?--"Stature" can hardly be the thing intended here: first, because the subject is the prolongation of life, by the supply of its necessaries of food and clothing: and next, because no one would dream of adding a cubit--or a foot and a half--to his stature, while in the corresponding passage in Luke (Lu 12:25, 26) the thing intended is represented as "that thing…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 6:27

• Care
• Cubit
• Faith
• Instruction
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Trouble
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Appear
• Closet
• Consider
• Corrupt
• Countenance
• Despise
• Fast
• Forgive
• Glory

Commentaries on Matthew 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings