Matthew 6:1-18
Three religious practices — giving, prayer and fasting — are treated in the same three-part pattern: do not do this to be seen, do it in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The Lord's Prayer sits in the middle of this section as a model for what secret prayer looks like.
1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5And 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. 6But 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. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16Moreover 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. 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18That 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.
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- ScriptureThe King James Version, public domain, quoted exactly. Never edited, never paraphrased.
- Context / MeaningEditorial background and plain-language explanation written for this app.
- Modern interpretationPsychology, behaviour or science, shown only when it genuinely helps. Never proof of a theological claim.
- ReflectiveSymbolic and personal readings. Ways of thinking with the text, not what the author meant.
- PracticeSomething realistic you might do. An invitation you choose, not a command from God.
Written study
A curated study written for these verses: context, meaning, connections, reflection, alignment and practice.
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The short version
- What is happening
- A tightly parallel structure: giving (vv.
- Why it matters here
- The concern throughout is audience, not the practices themselves: giving, praying and fasting are assumed as good, but doing them 'to be seen of men' forfeits the only reward being sought — human approval, already fully paid.
- One key idea
- Three religious practices — giving, prayer and fasting — are treated in the same three-part pattern: do not do this to be seen, do it in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The Lord's Prayer sits in the middle of this section as a model for what secret prayer looks like.
- One connection
- Jesus of Nazareth — Person
When did I last do something generous and quietly hope someone noticed?
A summary of what follows. Editorial, not Scripture.
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Adds short explanations of the names, places and words in these verses, right where they come up.
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Answers are drawn from what is written for Matthew 6:1-18, the people and places named in it, and this book's background. No AI service is connected in this build, so nothing here is machine-generated.
UnderstandWhat is happening herePlain language, faithful to the setting — plus who wrote it and why.
The concern throughout is audience, not the practices themselves: giving, praying and fasting are assumed as good, but doing them 'to be seen of men' forfeits the only reward being sought — human approval, already fully paid. The Lord's Prayer models brevity and content: God's name, kingdom and will first, then daily need, forgiveness (linked explicitly in vv.14–15 to forgiving others), and deliverance from temptation, deliberately unlike the repetitive prayers of pagan worship criticised in verse 7.
Who wrote this, to whom, and why
Editorial background written for this app. Not Scripture.
New to this? What “context” means here
Every part of the Bible was written by someone, for someone, in a particular time and place. Knowing who wrote it, who first read it and what came just before and after usually settles most questions about what it means.
Where we are not sure, we say so. “Traditional” means a long-standing attribution; “debated” means scholars genuinely disagree.
- Author
- The Gospel according to Matthew; traditionally attributed to Matthew the tax collector. (traditional)
- Audience
- Jewish disciples for whom almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the three standard pillars of visible piety.
- Literary setting
- A tightly parallel structure: giving (vv.2–4), prayer (vv.5–15, including the Lord's Prayer at vv.9–13), and fasting (vv.16–18), each following the same warning-instruction-promise pattern.
- Surrounding argument
- This follows the six contrasts of chapter 5 on how disciples treat others, and turns to how they practise devotion toward God. It leads into 6:19–34, which widens the same concern about divided or performative devotion into a broader teaching on treasure, singleness of focus and anxiety.
- Historical background
- Public trumpet-sounding before almsgiving (v.2) is not documented as a literal practice and may be Jesus' own vivid exaggeration for ostentatious giving. Fasting was commonly marked by visible signs of mourning (disheveled hair, ashes); 'anoint thine head' in verse 17 pictures ordinary grooming instead, to keep the fast unseen.
What remains uncertain
Whether Jesus intends fasting as an ongoing expectation for his followers, or is simply correcting the manner of an existing practice while leaving its frequency open, is genuinely debated; the passage assumes his disciples will fast ('when', not 'if') but nowhere legislates how often. Christian traditions have applied this very differently, from structured fasting seasons to little formal practice at all.
References
- Matthew 6:1–18
- Matthew 9:14–15 — Jesus on why his disciples did not fast during his earthly presence.
- Luke 11:1–4 — A shorter parallel version of the Lord's Prayer.
ConnectWho and what this connects to2 people, places and ideas named in these verses — and where you are in the story.
Tap any of these to see who or what it is, why it matters here, and where else it appears in our library. Editorial material, not Scripture.
AnglesSee it from a few anglesBiblical, human and — clearly marked — reflective readings, converging on one life.
These are ways of seeing, not competing theories to collect. They are editorial interpretation rather than Scripture, and they are here to meet in the alignment step below.
Biblical
What this contributes within Scripture
The Old Testament prophets already criticised worship performed for show rather than from the heart (Isaiah 58, on fasting; Amos 5); Jesus continues that tradition rather than introducing a new suspicion of religious practice.
Human pattern
Common human tendencies at work
Doing good things partly for an audience is an easy, largely unconscious drift, not necessarily deliberate hypocrisy — the passage's repeated 'that they may have glory of men' names a subtle motive rather than accusing every visible act of piety.
Historical
Background that changes the meaning
Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the three most visible markers of first-century Jewish piety; addressing all three in turn shows Jesus reforming standard practice rather than dismissing it.
ReflectWhat this brings up for youOpen questions that assume nothing about your situation. Answers stay on this device.
When did I last do something generous and quietly hope someone noticed?
What would my private prayer life look like if no one but God ever knew about it?
Is there a link, for me, between how easily I forgive and how I pray?
What needs to come into alignment?
If none of my devotional practice were ever seen by anyone, would I keep doing it?
- Notice
- Understand
- Choose
- Practise
Alignment is coherence between what you understand, believe, choose and do. It is not a score, and no one is measuring you. Anything suggested here is a possibility to weigh, never a command from God to you personally.
In your own words, what does this passage say?
In yourself, honestly, as you read it.
What you actually hold to be true here.
Your real behaviour, not your intentions.
Between what you believe and what you do.
Your own discernment — this app will not tell you what God requires of you.
One concrete action for the next 24 hours. Small and specific beats ambitious and vague.
One unseen act of devotion
Give, pray or fast in some small way today that no other person will know about, and resist the urge to mention it afterward.
Next 24 hours
If you keep practising this
Jesus continues the theme of undivided devotion into treasure, the eye, serving two masters and anxiety over provision (6:19–34). One possible direction: secret devotion toward God turns out to be closely tied to what — and whom — you are ultimately serving.
A possible direction, not a promised outcome.
RememberWhat to carry forwardOne takeaway, one memory hook, and anything you want to keep.
Build my understanding
Remember this much
- Who / what
- Matthew 6:1-18 — Gospel in Matthew
- Where
- Matthew · The life of Jesus
- What happened
- A tightly parallel structure: giving (vv.
- Why it matters
- The concern throughout is audience, not the practices themselves: giving, praying and fasting are assumed as good, but doing them 'to be seen of men' forfeits the only reward being sought — human approval, already fully paid.
- Key idea
- Three religious practices — giving, prayer and fasting — are treated in the same three-part pattern: do not do this to be seen, do it in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The Lord's Prayer sits in the middle of this section as a model for what secret prayer looks like.
“If none of my devotional practice were ever seen by anyone, would I keep doing it?”
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Translation
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 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. 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. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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.
Prefer to read the surrounding chapter? Open Matthew 6.