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

14“For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. “And whenever you fast, do not become sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they neglect their faces to make their fasting evident to men. Amen, I tell you, they have their reward in full! 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting won’t be evident to men, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

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 John’s disciples came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
• 2 Samuel 12:16David therefore sought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the floor.
• Nehemiah 1:4Upon hearing these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days. I prayed and fasted before the God of heaven.
• Esther 4:16“Go! Gather together all the Jews who are in Shushan and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast in the same way. Afterwards, I will go in to the king, even though it is not according to the law. So if I perish, I perish!”
• Psalms 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting, my prayer kept returning to my heart.
• Psalms 69:10For zeal for Your House consumed me— the insults of those who insulted You have fallen on me.
• Psalms 109:24My knees totter from fasting, and my flesh is lean, with no fat.
• Daniel 9:3So I set my face to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
• Luke 2:37and then as a widow until age eighty-four. She never left the Temple, serving night and day with fasting and prayers.
• Acts 10:30Cornelius declared, “Four days ago at this hour, I was praying minchah in my house. Suddenly, a man stood in front of me in shining clothes.
• Acts 13:2While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Ruach ha-Kodesh said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
• Acts 14:23When they had handpicked elders for them in every community, and prayed with fasting, they placed them in the care of the Lord—in whom they had put their trust.
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive one another—except by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
• 2 Corinthians 6:5in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in troubles, in sleeplessness, in hunger;
• 2 Corinthians 11:27in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
• Matthew 6:2So whenever you do tzadakah, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Amen, I tell you, they have their reward in full!

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