Darby Bible
Matthew 6:16
16And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
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 ye forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father also will forgive you [yours], 15but if ye do not forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive your offences. And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17But thou, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face, 18so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render [it] to thee.
Read all of Matthew 6Matthew 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
Cross-references for Matthew 6:16
- Matthew 9:14Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but thy disciples fast not?
- 2 Samuel 12:16And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
- Nehemiah 1:4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,
- Esther 4:16Go, gather together all the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.
- Psalms 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I chastened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine own bosom:
- Psalms 69:10And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; —
- Psalms 109:24My knees are failing through fasting, and my flesh hath lost its fatness;
- Daniel 9:3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;
- Luke 2:37and herself a widow up to eighty-four years; who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers;
- Acts 10:30And Cornelius said, Four days ago I had been [fasting] unto this hour, and the ninth [I was] praying in my house, and lo, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
- Acts 13:2And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
- Acts 14:23And having chosen them elders in each assembly, having prayed with fastings, they committed them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
- 1 Corinthians 7:5Defraud not one another, unless, it may be, by consent for a time, that ye may devote yourselves to prayer, and again be together, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency.
- 2 Corinthians 6:5in stripes, in prisons, in riots, in labours, in watchings, in fastings,
- 2 Corinthians 11:27in labour and toil, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
- Matthew 6:2When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Verily I say unto you, They have their 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
In the dictionaries
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
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