Passage

Matthew 6.5-15

Book: Matthew · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4. that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee."

"5. And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. 7. And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

"16. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;" (Matthew 6:3-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"3. But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, 4. so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

"5. “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 6. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7. In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 8. Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him. 9. Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11. Give us today our daily bread. 12. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’ 14. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

"16. “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;" (Matthew 6:3-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."

"5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

"16. 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. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;" (Matthew 6:3-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"3. 'But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth, 4. that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly."

"5. 'And when thou mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places, standing, to pray, that they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward. 6. 'But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly. 7. 'And, praying, ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard, 8. be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him; 9. thus therefore pray ye: 'Our Father who [art] in the heavens! hallowed be Thy name. 10. 'Thy reign come: Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth. 11. 'Our appointed bread give us to-day. 12. 'And forgive us our debts, as also we forgive our debtors. 13. 'And mayest Thou not lead us to temptation, but deliver us from the evil, because Thine is the reign, and the power, and the glory, to the ages. Amen. 14. 'For, if ye may forgive men their trespasses He also will forgive you, your Father who [is] in the heavens; 15. but if ye may not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

"16. 'And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward. 17. 'But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face," (Matthew 6:3-17, 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

Quoted in

Prayer

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.