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

14Then Jesus said, ‘When other people do wrong things against you, you must forgive them. Then God, your Father in heaven, will also forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. 15But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive you.’ Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time. But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get. 17But when you fast for some time, you should wash your face. Make your hair look nice. 18Then other people will not know that you are doing a special thing. But God, your Father, will know. You do not see him but he sees what you do secretly. He will give you good things in return.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Moreoverδέde · thenG1161
• whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• ye fastνηστεύωnēsteuō · to fastG3522
• beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notμήmē · notG3361
• asὥσπερhōsper · just asG5618
• the hypocritesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the hypocritesὑποκριτήςhupokritēs · hypocriteG5273
• of a sad countenanceσκυθρωπόςskuthrōpos · sadG4659
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• they disfigureἀφανίζωaphanizō · to destroyG853
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• facesπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383
• thatὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
• they may appearφαίνωphainō · to shine/appearG5316
• unto menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• Verilyἀμήνamēn · amenG281
• I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• They haveἀπέχωapechō · to have in fullG568
• rewardμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408

Cross-references for Matthew 6:16

• Matthew 9:14Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’
• 2 Samuel 12:16David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food.
• Nehemiah 1:4After they told me this, I sat down and I wept. I was very sad for many days. I did not eat or drink anything and I prayed to God.
• Esther 4:16‘Tell all the Jews in Susa to meet together. Tell them to fast and to pray for me. They must not eat or drink for three days, during the day and the night. My female servants and I will also do that. After three days, I will go and speak to the king. I know that I will do that against the king's law. But if I must die because of that, I agree to die.’
• Psalms 35:13When they were ill, I wore rough clothes, and I stopped eating food. I bent down my head as I prayed for them.
• Psalms 69:10When I weep and I stop eating food, it causes people to insult me.
• Psalms 109:24I am so hungry that my knees shake. I am so thin that my bones show.
• Daniel 9:3So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I ate no food. I wore clothes of rough sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset.
• Luke 2:37After that, she had lived alone until she was 84 years old. Now she never left the temple. She stayed there day and night to worship God. She fasted and she prayed.
• Acts 10:30Then Cornelius said, ‘Three days ago, I was in my house at this time of the day. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and I was praying to God. Suddenly, a man appeared and he stood in front of me. He was wearing bright clothes that shone.
• Acts 13:2One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’
• Acts 14:23Paul and Barnabas chose leaders for each group of believers in these places. They fasted and they prayed to God for some time about this. They asked the Lord Jesus to help these leaders who trusted in him.
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not refuse to have sex with each other, unless both of you agree to stop for a short time. Then you can use more time to pray. But you should come together again soon, as husband and wife. If not, Satan may try to make you do something wrong. You may want too strongly to have sex with someone else.
• 2 Corinthians 6:5Sometimes people hit us. They put us in prison. They attack us. But we work hard. We cannot always sleep at night. We are often hungry.
• 2 Corinthians 11:27I have worked very hard, and I have been in pain. Many times I have not slept. I have often been hungry and thirsty. Many times I have had no food. I have often been cold and without enough clothes.
• Matthew 6:2When 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.

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