ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Matthew 6.25-34

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"23. 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! 24. 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."

"25. 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? 26. 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? 27. And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? 28. And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29. yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. 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? 31. Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:23-34, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"23. 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! 24. “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."

"25. 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? 26. 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? 27. “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? 28. Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, 29. yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30. 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? 31. “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ 32. For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. 34. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient." (Matthew 6:23-34, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"23. 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! 24. 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."

"25. 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? 26. 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? 27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. 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? 31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. 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." (Matthew 6:23-34, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"23. 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! 24. '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."

"25. '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? 26. 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? 27. 'And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit? 28. 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; 29. and I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. 30. '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? 31. therefore ye may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we put round? 32. for all these do the nations seek for, for your heavenly Father doth know that ye have need of all these; 33. but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you. 34. 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." (Matthew 6:23-34, 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

Quoted in

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • 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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.