Matthew, 6

1. Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven.

2. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seen in the synagogues and in the streets in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have been already paid in full.

3. If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4. so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.

5. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.

6. When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will reward you.

7. When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard.

8. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.

9. This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, holy be your name,

10. your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

11. Give us today the kind of bread we need.

12. Forgive us our debts just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.

13. Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from the evil one.

14. If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours.

15. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.

16. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so people can see they are fasting. I tell you this: they have been paid in full already.

17. When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful,

18. because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, who sees what is kept secret will reward you.

19. Do not store up treasure for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it.

20. Store up treasure for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy nor thief come and steal it.

21. For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.

22. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light.

23. If your eyes are diseased your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!

24. No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot at the same time serve God and money.

25. This is why I tell you not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food and is not the body more important than clothes?

26. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest and do not store food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than birds?

27. Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it?

28. Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at the flowers in the fields how they grow. They do not toil or spin.

29. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these.

30. If God so clothes the grass in the field which blooms today and is to be burned tomorrow in an oven, how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have!

31. Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: what shall we wear?

32. The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

33. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you.

34. Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.