the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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George Lamsa Translation
Matthew 6
1 BE careful concerning your alms, not to do them in the presence of men, merely that they may see them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.2 Therefore when you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the market places, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, that they have already received their reward.3 But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing;4 So that your alms may be done secretly, and your Father who sees in secret, shall himself reward you openly.
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who like to pray, standing in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, that they have already received their reward.6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and lock your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret he himself shall reward you openly.7 And when you pray, do not repeat your words like the pagans, for they think that because of much talking they will be heard.8 Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need, before you ask him.
9 Therefore pray in this manner: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth.11 Give us bread for our needs from day to day.12 And forgive us our offences, as we have forgiven our offenders;13 And do not let us enter into temptation, but deliver us from error. Because thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.14 For if you forgive men their faults, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive even your faults.
16 When you fast, do not look sad like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear to men that they are fasting. Truly I say to you, that they have already received their reward.17 But you, when you fast, wash your face and anoint your head;18 So that it may not appear to men that you are fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret, he will reward you.
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures buried in the ground, a place where rust and moth destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.20 But lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.22 The eye is the lamp of the body; if therefore your eye be clear, your whole body is also lighted.23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how much more will be your darkness.24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and like the other; or he will honor one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (wealth).
25 For this reason, I say to you, Do not worry for your life, what you will eat, and what you will drink, nor for your body, what you will wear. Behold, is not life much more important than food, and the body than clothing?26 Watch the birds of the sky, for they do not sow, neither do they harvest, nor gather into barns, and yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?27 Who is among you who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?28 Why do you worry about clothing? Observe the wild flowers, how they grow; they do not get tired out, nor do they spin.29 But I say to you, that not even Solomon with all of his glory was covered like one of them.30 Now if God clothes in such fashion the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow falls into the fireplace, is he not much more to you, O you of little faith?31 Therefore do not worry or say, What will we eat, or what will we drink, or with what will we be clothed?32 For worldly people seek after all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that all of these things are also necessary for you.33 But you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things shall be added to you.34 Therefore do not worry for tomorrow; for tomorrow will look after its own. Sufficient for each day, is its own trouble.