EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Matthew 6:1
1Jesus then said to them, ‘You should do good things to help people. But be careful! Do not do this so that other people see you. If you want other people to praise you, your Father in heaven will not praise you.
Matthew 6:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
- New International Version (NIV)“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Context of Matthew 6:1
Jesus then said to them, ‘You should do good things to help people. But be careful! Do not do this so that other people see you. If you want other people to praise you, your Father in heaven will not praise you. 2When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The hypocrites do this in their meeting places. They also do it in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift. God will not give them anything more. 3So when you give something to a poor person, keep it a secret from other people. Do not tell anyone. Your left hand will not even know what your right hand does!
Read all of Matthew 6Matthew 6:1 word by word
Προσέχετε δὲ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς· εἰ δὲ μή γε, μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Take heed thatπροσέχωprosechō · to watch outG4337
- ye doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
- notμήmē · notG3361
- yourσύsu · youG4771
- almsἐλεημοσύνηeleēmosunē · charityG1654
- beforeἔμπροσθενemprosthen · beforeG1715
- menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- be seenθεάομαιtheaomai · to look atG2300
- of themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- ·εἰei · if: elseG1487
- otherwiseδέde · thenG1161
- ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- ·οὐou · noG3756
- noεἰ δὲ μή(γε)ei de mē(ge) · but if not; otherwiseG1490
- rewardμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408
- ofπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
- Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
Cross-references for Matthew 6:1
- Matthew 16:6Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’
- Mark 8:15Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful. Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees or the yeast of Herod.’
- Luke 11:35So you must be careful. Be sure that you really have light in you. Be sure that you are not still in the dark.
- Luke 12:1While all this was happening, many thousands of people had come together near that place. The crowd was so big that people were almost walking over each other. Jesus began to talk first to his disciples. He said, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees. Do not be hypocrites like they are.
- Hebrews 2:1So we must be very careful. We must continue to remember the message that we have heard about God's Son. Then we will not go in the wrong direction, and turn away from God.
- Deuteronomy 24:13You must always give his coat back to him before sunset. Then he can sleep in it to keep himself warm. He will ask God to bless you because you have been kind. The Lord your God will know that you have done the right thing.
- Psalms 112:9They give their things to help poor people. People will always remember the good things that they have done. They will be powerful and people will respect them.
- Daniel 4:27So King Nebuchadnezzar, please do as I suggest. Stop doing bad things. Start to do things that are right. Turn away from your sins. Instead, be kind to poor people. Then, perhaps, you will continue to be comfortable and happy.’
- 2 Corinthians 9:9The Bible says this about someone who helps other people: ‘He has shared his things with many poor people. God will always remember how kind that person has been.’
- Matthew 6:5‘Also, you must not pray in the way that the hypocrites pray. They like to stand and pray in their meeting places. They like to do it on the corners of the busy streets. Then many people will see them and they will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift from people. God will not give them anything more.
- Matthew 5:16You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do. Then they will praise God, who is your Father in heaven.’
- Matthew 23:5The Pharisees do things only so that people will see them. They wear little boxes with words from the Bible in them, but they make them really big. They also make the tassels on their clothes very long.
- 2 Kings 10:16Jehu said, ‘Come with me. You will see that I want to serve the Lord faithfully.’ So Jehonadab rode with Jehu in his chariot.
- Ezekiel 33:31They are my people and they come as a crowd to listen to you. They sit and they listen to your words. But they do not obey what you say. They say that they love me. But really they like to cheat people to get things for themselves.
- Zechariah 7:5He said, ‘Say this to all the people in this country and to the priests: “You lived in Babylon for many years. You ate no food and you were sad in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But you did not do this for me.
- Zechariah 13:4On that day, every prophet will be ashamed that he was ever a prophet. He will not put on the clothes of a prophet that they make from hair. Then people will not know that he is a prophet.
Commentaries on Matthew 6:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1That ye do not your alms - , perform not your acts of righteousness - such as alms-giving, fasting, and prayer, mentioned immediately after. Instead of , righteousness, or acts of righteousness, the reading in the text, that which has been commonly received is , alms. But the first reading has been inserted in several editions, and is supported by the Codd. Vatican and Bezae, some others, and several versions, all the Itala except one, and the Vulgate…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Take heed that ye do not your alms - The word “alms” here denotes liberality to the poor and needy. In the margin, as in the best editions of the Greek it is “righteousness;” either referring to almsgiving as eminently a righteous act, or more probably including all that is specified in this and the following verses - almsgiving, prayer, fasting, Galatians 2:10; James 1:27; Luke 19:8. Before men - Our Lord does not require us never to give alms before…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Against hypocrisy in almsgiving. (1-4) Against hypocrisy in prayer. (5-8) How to pray. (9-15) Respecting fasting. (16-18) Evil of being worldly-minded. (19-24) Trust in God commended. (25-34) Verses 1-4 Our Lord next warned against hypocrisy and outward show in religious duties. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1This verse begins the teaching in Matthew 6:2–18. Jesus explains that righteousness (living in line with God’s will) should not be done for public recognition. It should be offered as service to God. Righteous acts are actions that follow God’s way of living. Examples include: giving gifts to those in need (6:2–4), praying (6:5–15), and fasting (6:16–18). Jesus encourages keeping these actions private to avoid seeking personal praise instead of honoring…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-18Sermon on the Mount--continued. General Caution against Ostentation in Religious Duties (Mt 6:1). 1. Take heed that ye do not your alms--But the true reading seems clearly to be "your righteousness." The external authority for both readings is pretty nearly equal; but internal evidence is decidedly in favor of "righteousness." The subject of the second verse being "almsgiving" that word--so like the other in Greek--might easily be substituted for it by…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 6:1
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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