Matthew 6:16

Matthew 6:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Context of Matthew 6:16

14For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours. When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16 word by word

Ὅταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί· ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες. ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.Read the interlinear

• ·δέde · thenG1161
• Whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• you fastνηστεύωnēsteuō · to fastG3522
• notμήmē · notG3361
• beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• somberσκυθρωπόςskuthrōpos · sadG4659
• likeὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• they disfigureἀφανίζωaphanizō · to destroyG853
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• facesπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383
• to showὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
• to showφαίνωphainō · to shine/appearG5316
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• Trulyἀμήνamēn · amenG281
• I tellλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• youσύsu · youG4771
• they already haveἀπέχωapechō · to have in fullG568
• full rewardμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408

Cross-references for Matthew 6:16

• Matthew 9:14Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
• 2 Samuel 12:16David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
• Nehemiah 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
• Esther 4:16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
• Psalms 35:13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
• Psalms 69:10I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach.
• Psalms 109:24My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
• Daniel 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
• Luke 2:37and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
• Acts 10:30Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
• Acts 13:2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
• Acts 14:23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
• 2 Corinthians 6:5in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger;
• 2 Corinthians 11:27in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.
• Matthew 6:2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Commentaries on Matthew 6:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16When ye fast - A fast is termed by the Greeks Ϛ, from not, and to eat; hence fast means, a total abstinence from food for a certain time. Abstaining from flesh, and living on fish, vegetables, etc., is no fast, or may be rather considered a burlesque on fasting. Many pretend to take the true definition of a fast from Isaiah 58:3, and say that it means a fast from sin. This is a mistake; there is no such term in the Bible as fasting from sin; the very idea…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Moreover, when ye fast - The word “fast” literally signifies to abstain from food and drink, whether from necessity or as a religious observance. It is, however, commonly applied in the Bible to the latter. It is, then, an expression of grief or sorrow. Such is the constitution of the body, that in a time of grief or sorrow we are not disposed to eat; or, we have no appetite. The grief of the “soul” is so absorbing as to destroy the natural appetites of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-18Verses 16-18 Religious fasting is a duty required of the disciples of Christ, but it is not so much a duty itself, as a means to dispose us for other duties. Fasting is the humbling of the soul, Psa 35:13; that is the inside of the duty; let that, therefore, be thy principal care, and as to the outside of it, covet not to let it be seen. God sees in secret, and will reward openly.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16People often connect prayer and fasting (Leviticus 23:27–32; Nehemiah 9:1–2; Zechariah 7:3–5; 8:19; Luke 18:12). Before the time of Jesus, some Israelites misused this practice (Isaiah 58:3–12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. Moreover, when ye fast--referring, probably, to private and voluntary fasting, which was to be regulated by each individual for himself; though in spirit it would apply to any fast. be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces--literally, "make unseen"; very well rendered "disfigure." They went about with a slovenly appearance, and ashes sprinkled on their head. that they may appear unto men to fast--It was not the…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 6:16

• Commandments
• Face
• Fasting
• Hypocrisy
• Motive
• Pharisees
• Religion

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