Matthew 6:25-32

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? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? ⁵  6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers ⁶  of the field grow; they do not work ⁷  or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ⁸  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ⁹  won’t he clothe you even more, ¹⁰  you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted ¹¹  pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

[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.”

[6:27]  ⁵ 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.

[6:28]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[6:28]  ⁷ tn Or, traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English reads better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[6:30]  ⁸ tn Grk “grass of the field.”

[6:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[6:30]  ¹⁰ sn The phrase even more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.

[6:32]  ¹¹ tn Or “unbelievers”; Grk “Gentiles.”