Matthew 6:8

Matthew 6:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Context of Matthew 6:8

6But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 7When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored, 10may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:8 word by word

μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς· οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Beὁμοιόωhomoioō · to likenG3666
• notμήmē · notG3361
• ye thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• knowethεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• what thingsὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• need ofχρείαchreia · needG5532
• beforeπρόpro · beforeG4253
• askαἰτέωaiteō · to askG154

Cross-references for Matthew 6:8

• Matthew 6:32For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
• Psalms 38:9O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; my groaning is not hidden from you.
• Psalms 69:17Do not ignore your servant, for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!
• Luke 12:30For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
• John 16:23At that time you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
• Philippians 4:6Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Commentaries on Matthew 6:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of - Prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man a sight of his misery; to humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith, to animate his hope, to raise his soul from earth to heaven, and to put him in mind that There is his Father, his country, and inheritance. In the preceding verses we may see three faults, which our Lord commands us to avoid in prayer: - 1st. Hypocrisy. Be not as the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-8Verses 5-8 It is taken for granted that all who are disciples of Christ pray. You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray. If prayerless, then graceless. The Scribes and Pharisees were guilty of two great faults in prayer, vain-glory and vain repetitions. "Verily they have their reward;" if in so great a matter as is between us and God, when we are at prayer, we can look to so poor a thing as the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8God cannot be persuaded by repeating words over and over. The Lord’s Prayer is a simple and authoritative model (Matthew 6:9–13), unlike the lengthy prayers of pagans.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him--and so needs not to be informed of our wants, any more than to be roused to attend to them by our incessant speaking. What a view of God is here given, in sharp contrast with the gods of the heathen! But let it be carefully noted that it is not as the general Father of mankind that our Lord says, "Your Father" knoweth what ye need before ye ask…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 6:8

• Commandments
• Gentiles
• God
• God Continued...
• Motive
• Pharisees
• Prayer
• Religion

In the dictionaries

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

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