Matthew 6:17

Matthew 6:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
• English Standard Version (ESV)But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
• New Living Translation (NLT)But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.

Context of Matthew 6:17

15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16“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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Matthew 6:17 word by word

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαιRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• thouσύsu · youG4771
• when thou fastestνηστεύωnēsteuō · to fastG3522
• anointἀλείφωaleiphō · to anointG218
• headὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• headκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• washνίπτωniptō · to washG3538
• faceπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383

Cross-references for Matthew 6:17

• Ruth 3:3Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
• 2 Samuel 14:2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.
• Ecclesiastes 9:8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
• Daniel 10:2At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.

Commentaries on Matthew 6:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Anoint thine head and wash thy face - These were forbidden in the Jewish canon on days of fasting and humiliation; and hypocrites availed themselves of this ordinance, that they might appear to fast. Our Lord, therefore, cautions us against this: as if he had said, Affect nothing - dress in thy ordinary manner, and let the whole of thy deportment prove that thou desirest to recommend my soul to God, and not thy face to men. That factitious mourning, which…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17But thou when thou fastest, anoint … - That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress. The Jews and all neighboring nations were much in the habit of washing and anointing their bodies. This washing was performed at every meal; and where it could be effected, the head, or other parts of the body, was daily anointed with sweet or olive oil. In a warm climate, exposed to the great heat of the sun, this…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face--as the Jews did, except when mourning (Da 10:3); so that the meaning is, "Appear as usual"--appear so as to attract no notice.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 6:17

• Ablution
• Commandments
• Fasting
• 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