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Read the Bible

King James Version

Matthew 6:3

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Alms;   Commandments;   Giving;   Liberality;   Motive;   Pharisees;   Religion;   Works;   Thompson Chain Reference - Benevolence;   Generosity;   Giving;   Liberality;   Liberality-Parsimony;   The Topic Concordance - Charity;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Adoption;   Liberality;   Works, Good;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Poor;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Boasting;   Humility;   Hypocrisy;   Sermon on the mount;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Contribution;   Mercy;   Motives;   Reward;   Wages;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Hutchinsonians;   Learning;   Lord's Prayer;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Alms;   False Worship;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Piety;   Sermon on the Mount;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Alms, Almsgiving;   Ethics;   Mss;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Alms;   Almsgiving ;   Ambition;   Error;   Hand ;   Heart;   Holiness Purity;   Ideas (Leading);   Law of God;   Lord's Supper. (I.);   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Mental Characteristics;   Merit;   Metaphors;   Organization (2);   Personality;   Pleasure;   Popularity;   Property (2);   Reality;   Religion (2);   Retribution (2);   Sermon on the Mount;   Simple, Simplicity ;   Temperance ;   Wealth (2);   Winter ;   Worldliness (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Kingdom of christ of heaven;   Kingdom of god;   Kingdom of heaven;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Alms;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Hand;   Pharisees;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Beg;   Praise;   Right;   Sermon on the Mount, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Alms;   Begging and Beggars;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for October 25;   Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for December 13;   Faith's Checkbook - Devotion for March 2;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
So when you give to the poor, don't let anyone know what you are doing.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But whe thou doest thine almes let not thy lyfte had knowe what thy righte had doth
International Standard Version
But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
New American Standard Bible
"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
New Century Version
So when you give to the poor, don't let anyone know what you are doing.
Update Bible Version
But when you do alms, don't let your left hand know what your right hand does:
Webster's Bible Translation
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Amplified Bible
"But when you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing [give in complete secrecy],
English Standard Version
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
World English Bible
But when you do merciful deeds, don't let your left hand know what your right hand does,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But when thou dost alms, let not thy left-hand know what thy right-hand doth:
Weymouth's New Testament
But when you are giving in charity, let not your left hand perceive what your right hand is doing,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But whanne thou doist almes, knowe not thi left hond what thi riyt hond doith, that thin almes be in hidils,
English Revised Version
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Berean Standard Bible
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Contemporary English Version
When you give to the poor, don't let anyone know about it.
American Standard Version
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Bible in Basic English
But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does:
Complete Jewish Bible
But you, when you do tzedakah, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Darby Translation
But thou, when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does;
Etheridge Translation
But thou, when thou art doing thy alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth,
Murdock Translation
But thou, when doing alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
King James Version (1611)
But when thou doest almes, let not thy left hand know, what thy right doeth:
New Living Translation
But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
New Life Bible
When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand gives.
New Revised Standard
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Geneva Bible (1587)
But when thou doest thine almes, let not thy left hand knowe what thy right hand doeth,
George Lamsa Translation
But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, thou, when doing an alms, let not, thy left hand, know what thy right hand is doing;
Douay-Rheims Bible
But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.
Revised Standard Version
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when thou doest [thyne] almes, let not thy left hande knowe, what thy ryght hande doeth,
Good News Translation
But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it.
Christian Standard Bible®
But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Hebrew Names Version
But when you do merciful deeds, don't let your left hand know what your right hand does,
Lexham English Bible
But you, when you practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Literal Translation
But you doing merciful deeds, do not let your left know what your right hand does,
Young's Literal Translation
`But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whe thou doest almes, let not thy lefte hande knowe, what thy righte hande doth;
Mace New Testament (1729)
but when you give alms, "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth:"
New English Translation
But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
New King James Version
But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Simplified Cowboy Version
But when you do help someone out, don't let the glove on your left hand know what the glove on your right hand is doin'.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Legacy Standard Bible
But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

Contextual Overview

1 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. 2 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. 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let: Matthew 8:4, Matthew 9:30, Matthew 12:19, Mark 1:44, John 7:4

Reciprocal: Proverbs 21:14 - in secret Matthew 25:37 - when Acts 5:2 - laid 1 Timothy 5:25 - cannot

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Genesis 6:13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:14
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Genesis 6:15
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
Genesis 6:16
A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
Genesis 6:18
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
Genesis 6:20
Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
Numbers 11:17
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
Nehemiah 9:30
Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
Psalms 78:39
For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when thou dost alms,.... Do it so privately, and with so much secrecy, that, if it was possible, thou mightest not know it thyself, much less make it known to others:

let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; acquaint not thy nearest and dearest friend with it; let not one that sits at thy left hand know what thou art doing with thy right hand; it is a proverbial and hyperbolical phrase, expressing the secrecy of the action. It is a Jewish canon p, that

"he that gives a gift to his friend out of love, may make it known, אבל לא בצדקה, "but not if it be by way of alms".''

p Piske Tosephot in Sabbat. c. 1. art. 134.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let not thy left hand know ... - This is a proverbial expression, signifying that the action should be done as secretly as possible. The Hebrews often attribute actions to members which properly belong to persons. The encouragement for performing our acts of charity in secret is that it will be pleasing to God; that he will see the act, however secret it may be, and will openly reward it. If the reward is not granted in this life, it will be in the life to come. In multitudes of cases, however, alms given to the poor are “lent to the Lord” Proverbs 19:17, and will be repaid in this life. Rarely, perhaps never, has it been found that the man who is liberal to the poor has ever suffered by it in his worldly circumstances.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 6:3. Let not thy left hand know — In many cases, works of charity must be hidden from even our nearest relatives, who, if they knew, would hinder us from doing what God has given us power and inclination to perform. We must go even farther; and conceal them as far as is possible from ourselves, by not thinking of them, or eyeing them with complacency. They are given to GOD, and should be hidden in HIM.


 
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