Matthew 6:1
New International Version
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

New Living Translation
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.

English Standard Version
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Berean Standard Bible
“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Berean Literal Bible
And beware not to do your righteousness before men in order to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward in the presence of your Father in the heavens.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

New American Standard Bible
“Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

NASB 1995
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

NASB 1977
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Beware of doing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

Amplified Bible
“Be [very] careful not to do your good deeds publicly, to be seen by men; otherwise you will have no reward [prepared and awaiting you] with your Father who is in heaven.

Christian Standard Bible
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

American Standard Version
Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Pay attention in your charity giving, that you do it not in front of people so that you may be seen by them, otherwise there is no reward for you with your Father in Heaven.

Contemporary English Version
When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from your Father in heaven.

Douay-Rheims Bible
TAKE heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.

English Revised Version
Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father which is in heaven.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you.

Good News Translation
"Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.

International Standard Version
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Literal Standard Version
“Take heed not to do your kindness before men, to be seen by them, and if not—you have no reward from your Father who [is] in the heavens;

Majority Standard Bible
“Be careful not to perform your acts of charity before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

New American Bible
“[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.

NET Bible
"Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

New Revised Standard Version
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

New Heart English Bible
"Be careful that you do not do your righteousness before people, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Webster's Bible Translation
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen by them: otherwise ye have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Weymouth New Testament
"But beware of doing your good actions in the sight of men, in order to attract their gaze; if you do, there is no reward for you with your Father who is in Heaven.

World English Bible
“Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Young's Literal Translation
Take heed your kindness not to do before men, to be seen by them, and if not -- reward ye have not from your Father who is in the heavens;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Giving to the Needy
1“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.…

Cross References
Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Matthew 6:16
When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Matthew 23:5
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

Acts 3:12
And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?


Treasury of Scripture

Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

heed.

Matthew 16:6
Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:15
And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Luke 11:35
Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

alms.

Deuteronomy 24:13
In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.

Psalm 112:9
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

Daniel 4:27
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

to be.

Matthew 6:5,16
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…

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 23:5,14,28-30
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, …

otherwise.

Matthew 6:4,6
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly…

Matthew 5:46
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Matthew 10:41,42
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward…

of your.

Matthew 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Jump to Previous
Actions Acts Alms Attract Beware Care Careful Charitable Gaze Good Heaven Heavens Heed Kindness Noticed Order Otherwise Practicing Reward Righteousness Sight
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Actions Acts Alms Attract Beware Care Careful Charitable Gaze Good Heaven Heavens Heed Kindness Noticed Order Otherwise Practicing Reward Righteousness Sight
Matthew 6
1. Giving to the Needy
5. The Lord's Prayer
16. Proper Fasting
19. Store up Treasures in Heaven
25. Do Not Worry
33. but seek God's kingdom.














VI.

(1) From the protest against the casuistry which tampered with and distorted the great primary commandments, the Sermon on the Mount passes to the defects of character and action which vitiated the religion of Pharisaism even where it was at its best. Its excellence had been that it laid stress, as the religion of Islam did afterwards, on the three great duties of the religious life, almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, rather than on sacrifices and offerings. Verbally, Pharisaism accepted on this point the widest and most spiritual teaching of the prophets, and so its home was in the Synagogue rather than the Temple, and it gained a hold on the minds of the people which the priests never gained. But a subtle evil found its way even here. Love of praise and power, rather than spontaneous love, and self-denial, and adoration, was the mainspring of their action, and so that which is the essence of all religion was absent even from the acts in which the purest and highest form of religion naturally shows itself.

Your alms.--The better MSS. give righteousness, and obviously with a far truer meaning, as the wider word which branches off afterwards into the three heads of alms, fasting, prayer. In Rabbinic language the whole was often used for the part, and "righteousness" was identified with "mercifulness," and that with giving money. The Greek version of the LXX. often renders the Hebrew word for righteousness by "alms." In the New Testament, however, there is no such narrowing of its meaning, and here the full significance of the word is fixed by its use in Matthew 5:20. The reading "alms" probably arose from a misconception of the real meaning of the passage, and the consequent assumption that it simply introduced the rule given in Matthew 6:2-3.

To be seen of them.--It is the motive, and not the fact of publicity, that vitiates the action. The high ideal of the disciple of Christ is to let his light shine "before men" (the self-same words are used in Matthew 5:16 as here), and yet to be indifferent to their praise or even their opinion. In most religious men there is probably a mingling of the two motives, and we dare not say at what precise stage the presence of the lower overpowers the higher. It is enough to remember that it is the little speck which may taint the whole character till it loses all its life.

Of your Father which is in heaven.--More accurately, with your Father, as meaning, "in His estimate." The act is not done to and for Him, and therefore (speaking after the manner of men) He looks on it as having no claim to payment.

Verses 1-18. - The relation of our Lord and his disciples to the religion of the day (continued); vide Matthew 5:17, note. (b) Our Lord turns from cases which could be directly deduced from the Law to those which belonged only to recognized religious duty. Of these he instances three: alms (vers. 2-4), prayer (vers. 5-8, 9-15), fasting (vers. 16-18). It is, indeed, true that the performance of these duties on special occasions was implied in the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 26:12-15); but there are no regulations concerning their observance in ordinary and daily life. These were matters of custom and tradition; to this the Law, in its original aim and method, did not extend. There was therefore the more need for the Law to be supplemented by the instructions of the Jewish leaders. These our Lord does not reject, but only corrects. Verse 1. - Matthew only. Take heed; προσέχετε [δέ] (Westcott and Hort). If "but" is genuine, as is on the whole more probable, our Lord places this warning in close relation to the preceding charge. Aim at "perfection," but beware of mere show. Rather you must consider the estimate that will be formed of you by your Father which is in heaven. That ye do not your alms; Revised Version, your righteousness (so the manuscripts). Although one of the Hebrew words for "righteousness" (צרקה) was used especially for the righteousness of almsgiving (cf. Deuteronomy 6:25, LXX.; and 'Psalms of Solomon,' 9:6, where see Professor Ryle's and Mr. James's note), yet it is improbable that τὴν δικαιοσύνην should here be rendered "alms," because

(1) it has this meaning nowhere else in the New Testament;

(2) the word for "alms" (ἐλεημοσύνη) comes in the next verse;

(3) the emphatic position of τὴν δικαιοσύνην (μὴ ποιεῖν), in contrast to ποιῇς ἐλεημοσύνην (ver. 2), points to it being a collective expression of which the various parts are mentioned in the following verses. The form also of the sentence, "when," etc., at the head of each of the other subjects, (vers. 5,16) shows that these are co-ordinated with ver. 2. Your; in contrast to that of the typical Jews. The limitation implied in ὑμῶν, gives a more partial and probably more external meaning to "righteousness" (cf. Ezekiel 18:22, 24) than is to be seen in the corresponding phrase in 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:7. To be seen of them (πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς. Having for your final purpose (cf. Ellicott on 1 Corinthians 9:18) to be gazed at by them (cf. Matthew 23:5; Acts 1:11; and T.R. of Acts 8:18; at. supra, Matthew 5:28). Otherwise (Winer, § 65:3. c). Ye have no reward (Matthew 5:12, note). Of your Father; Authorized Version margin and Revised Version, with; the thought being not that it is given by him, but that it is laid up with him (παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὑμῶν). Perhaps, however, the preposition rather means "in the judgment of" (cf. 1 Peter 2:4). Your Father (Matthew 5:16. note). Notice the frequent repetition of the phrase in this context (Matthew 5:48; Matthew 6:4, 6, 8, 15, 18 bis).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Be careful
Προσέχετε (Prosechete)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4337: From pros and echo; to hold the mind towards, i.e. Pay attention to, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere to.

not
μὴ (mē)
Adverb
Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.

to perform
ποιεῖν (poiein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 4160: (a) I make, manufacture, construct, (b) I do, act, cause. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

righteous acts
δικαιοσύνην (dikaiosynēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1343: From dikaios; equity; specially justification.

before
ἔμπροσθεν (emprosthen)
Preposition
Strong's 1715: From en and pros; in front of (literally or figuratively) or time).

men
ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 444: A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.

to be seen
θεαθῆναι (theathēnai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive
Strong's 2300: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to look closely at, i.e. perceive; by extension to visit.

by them.
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

If
εἰ (ei)
Conjunction
Strong's 1487: If. A primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.

[you do],
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

you will have
ἔχετε (echete)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

no
οὐκ (ouk)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

reward
μισθὸν (misthon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3408: (a) pay, wages, salary, (b) reward, recompense, punishment. Apparently a primary word; pay for service, good or bad.

from
παρὰ (para)
Preposition
Strong's 3844: Gen: from; dat: beside, in the presence of; acc: alongside of.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

Father
Πατρὶ (Patri)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3962: Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

heaven.
οὐρανοῖς (ouranois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3772: Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 6:1 Be careful that you don't do your (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 5:48
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