New Living Translation
Matthew 6:17
17But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
Matthew 6:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
- New International Version (NIV)But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your 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,
Context of Matthew 6:17
15But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 19“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
Read all of Matthew 6Matthew 6:17 word by word
σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαιRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 6:17
- Ruth 3:3Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking.
- 2 Samuel 14:2So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.
- Ecclesiastes 9:8Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!
- Daniel 10:2When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole 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
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries