THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Chapter 6: Yeshua said: “Be careful not to
parade your acts of tzedakah (good deeds) in front of people in order to be
seen by them! If you do, you will get no reward from Elohim (your heavenly
Father). So, when you do tzedakah, don't announce it with trumpets to win
people's praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes!
I tell you, that is their whole reward. But you, when you do tzedakah, don't
even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your
tzedakah will be in secret; and Elohim, who sees what you do in secret, will
reward you.
And again, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites,
who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that
people can see them. I tell you, that is their only reward. But you, when you
pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to Elohim in secret, and your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And, in praying,
don't just babble on and on like the pagans, who think they will be heard better
if they talk a lot. No, don't be like them, because Elohim knows what you
need before you ask him.
You,
therefore, should pray like this: `Our Father in heaven, hallowed (holy) be
Your Name. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in
heaven. Give us this day the food we need, and forgive us what we have
done wrong, as we too forgive those who have wronged us; and do not lead us
into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One. For kingship, power, and
glory are Yours forever. Amen.' For if you forgive others their offenses, Elohim
will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their offenses, Elohim
will not forgive yours.
Now when you fast,
don't be like the hypocrites – they neglect their appearance so as to appear gloomy
with disfigured faces, making a show of their fasting.
But you, when you fast, anoint
your head, wash your face and groom yourself, so that no one will know you
are fasting – except Elohim, Who is unseen. And Elohim, Who sees what is done
in secret, will reward you.
Do not store up for
yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where
thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break through or
steal. For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.
The eye is the lamp of
the body. So then, if you have a `good eye' (that is, if you are generous) your
whole body will be full of light; but if you have an `evil eye' (if you are
stingy) your whole body will be full of darkness, and how dense that darkness
will be! No one can serve two two masters; for he will either hate the first
and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't
serve Elohei (God) and money at the same time. I say therefore, don't
worry about your life, as to what you will eat or drink; or about your body, as
to what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important
than clothing? Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor
harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; and yet Elohim feeds them. Are you
not worth more than they are?
Now, which one of you,
by worrying, can add a foot to his height? Can any of you by worrying add a
single hour to his life? And why be anxious about clothing? Look at the
fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, yet
I tell you that not even Shlomo (Solomon) in all his glory was clothed as
beautifully as one of these. If this is how Elohim clothes grass in the
field – which is green today and dry tomorrow, thrown into an oven – won't He not
much more clothe you – you of so little faith? So don't be anxious, then, about
what you will have to eat, and what you will have to drink, and what you will
have to wear. For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things,
striving hard to get them. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But
seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have its
own problems. Each day has enough tsuris (troubles) of its own.”
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