6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate 1 the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise 2 the other. You cannot serve God and money. 3
6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry 4 about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: 5 They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds 6 them. Aren’t you more valuable 7 than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 8
1 sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.
2 tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”
3 tn Grk “God and mammon.”
4 tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.
5 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
6 tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”
7 tn Grk “of more value.”
8 tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς (phcus). Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 436 s.v. 3 for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.