# Matthew 6.20

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 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> (Matthew 6:18-22, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 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> (Matthew 6:18-22, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 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> (Matthew 6:18-22, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 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> (Matthew 6:18-22, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
- **Audience:** Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
- **Location:** first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
- **Time period:** events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

## Theological reading

## Key words

_No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)_

## 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.

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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/)

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 6](/codex/matthew-6/)
- [Sermon on the Mount](/codex/sermon-on-the-mount/), via [Matthew 6](/codex/matthew-6/), [Matthew 6.19-34](/codex/matthew-6-19-34/)

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