# Matthew 6.19-34

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-11 | updated: 2026-06-11 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.</span>
>
> **19. <span class="rl-speech">Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness!</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they?</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.</span> 30. <span class="rl-speech">But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?</span> 32. <span class="rl-speech">For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.</span> 33. <span class="rl-speech">But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.</span> 34. <span class="rl-speech">Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.</span>** (Matthew 6:17-34, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.</span>
>
> **19. <span class="rl-speech">“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">“Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.</span> 30. <span class="rl-speech">But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’</span> 32. <span class="rl-speech">For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.</span> 33. <span class="rl-speech">But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.</span> 34. <span class="rl-speech">Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.</span>** (Matthew 6:17-34, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.</span>
>
> **19. <span class="rl-speech">Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.</span> 30. <span class="rl-speech">Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?</span> 32. <span class="rl-speech">(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.</span> 33. <span class="rl-speech">But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.</span> 34. <span class="rl-speech">Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.</span>** (Matthew 6:17-34, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">'But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.</span>
>
> **19. <span class="rl-speech">'Treasure not up to yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust disfigure, and where thieves break through and steal,</span> 20. <span class="rl-speech">but treasure up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth disfigure, and where thieves do not break through nor steal,</span> 21. <span class="rl-speech">for where your treasure is, there will be also your heart.</span> 22. <span class="rl-speech">'The lamp of the body is the eye, if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be enlightened,</span> 23. <span class="rl-speech">but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that [is] in thee is darkness, the darkness, how great!</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">'None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">'Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing?</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">look to the fowls of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses, and your heavenly Father doth nourish them; are not ye much better than they?</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">'And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">and about clothing why are ye anxious? consider well the lilies of the field; how do they grow? they do not labour, nor do they spin;</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">and I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.</span> 30. <span class="rl-speech">'And if the herb of the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast to the furnace, God doth so clothe, not much more you, O ye of little faith?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">therefore ye may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we put round?</span> 32. <span class="rl-speech">for all these do the nations seek for, for your heavenly Father doth know that ye have need of all these;</span> 33. <span class="rl-speech">but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.</span> 34. <span class="rl-speech">Be not therefore anxious for the morrow, for the morrow shall be anxious for its own things; sufficient for the day [is] the evil of it.</span>** (Matthew 6:17-34, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from Sanctity](/codex/argument-from-sanctity/), via [Matthew 6.1-21](/codex/matthew-6-1-21/)
- [Argument from the Continuance of Being](/codex/argument-from-the-continuance-of-being/), via [Matthew 6.26](/codex/matthew-6-26/), [Matthew 6.30](/codex/matthew-6-30/)
- [Inherited Guilt and Visiting Iniquity Objection Defeater](/codex/inherited-guilt-and-visiting-iniquity-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 6.30](/codex/matthew-6-30/)

**Concepts:**

- [100 Verses of Compassion and God's Goodness](/codex/100-verses-of-compassion-and-gods-goodness/), via [Matthew 6.26](/codex/matthew-6-26/)
- [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/), via [Matthew 6.24](/codex/matthew-6-24/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 6](/codex/matthew-6/)
- [Kingdom Business](/codex/kingdom-business/), via [Matthew 6.19](/codex/matthew-6-19/), [Matthew 6.21](/codex/matthew-6-21/)
- [Laws of Logic](/codex/laws-of-logic/), via [Matthew 6.24](/codex/matthew-6-24/)
- [Sermon on the Mount](/codex/sermon-on-the-mount/)
- [Spirit of Anxiety](/codex/spirit-of-anxiety/), via [Matthew 6.34](/codex/matthew-6-34/)
- [Spirit of Mammon](/codex/spirit-of-mammon/), via [Matthew 6.24](/codex/matthew-6-24/)
- [Spirit of Vanity and Futility](/codex/spirit-of-vanity-and-futility/), via [Matthew 6.33](/codex/matthew-6-33/)
- [The Devil](/codex/the-devil/), via [Matthew 6.24](/codex/matthew-6-24/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G1253 - diakrisis](/codex/g1253-diakrisis/), via [Matthew 6.22-23](/codex/matthew-6-22-23/)
- [G1343 - dikaiosyne](/codex/g1343-dikaiosyne/), via [Matthew 6.33](/codex/matthew-6-33/)
- [G5590 - psyche](/codex/g5590-psyche/), via [Matthew 6.25](/codex/matthew-6-25/)
- [G932 - basileia](/codex/g932-basileia/), via [Matthew 6.33](/codex/matthew-6-33/)
- [H6666 - tzedakah](/codex/h6666-tzedakah/), via [Matthew 6.33](/codex/matthew-6-33/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.