Matthew 6:25-26

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ¹  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: ²  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ³  them. Aren’t you more valuable ⁴  than they are?

[6:25]  ¹ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[6:26]  ² 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).

[6:26]  ³ 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.”

[6:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “of more value.”